MK Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid) refuses to see the demonstration against the judicial reform as a left-wing demonstration.
Speaking to Israel National News from the Knesset on Monday, Cohen said that the protest is made up of "hundreds of thousands of people who have been protesting week after week, and come from both the right and the left, both religious and secular, because the desire to preserve democracy has nothing to do with being on the right or the left. One can believe in the greater Israel and think that a Prime Minister accused of crimes cannot appoint his own judges."
"Everybody believes in incorruptibility. Everybody believes that we need a separation of powers, that we want democracy and a country where even the minority have rights. We saw a very large group today and we have to be careful not to paint us all as leftists, extremists, Ashkenazim, Tel Avivians. You can no longer say that. It's real and authentic," said MK Cohen, who thanked those who came to protest and lost a day of work in order to do so.
"We must not agree with the coup d'état. We understand that, like any public system, there is a place to look into corrections in the judicial system, but corrections to such a sensitive issue are done in a responsible manner. You take one layer, find the balanced version after a discussion, implement and then see if additional amendments are necessary. You don't bring a pile of proposals all at once that are each formulated in an extreme way, and when brought together they really don't come to fix anything. They destroy the justice system. We will not rest or be quiet until we banish this threat."
Cohen added that "the moment the coalition stops promoting this move and is ready to talk, each time about a different layer and find balanced proposals – that is the only thing we will agree to."
Asked about the protest by members of the Knesset in the Constitution Committee, which led to shameful scenes of MKs from her party confronting Knesset ushers, Cohen replied that in the face of extreme acts, there is also an extreme protest.
"We are a public that fears that we will not have a place to raise our children and that they will not have a democratic country to grow up and live in.We see how the next moves will be moves of religious coercion, violation of the rights of women and minorities.We do not want to see such a country.As far as we’re concerned, this is make or break, so I suggest that the coalition listen to the voice of more than half the population."
Cohen also does not accept the claim that the election campaign was about the judicial reform. "This is not true. Their electorate expects them to deal with security and personal safety and the cost of living and not with the method of electing judges and the seniority system," she said.
On President Herzog's call for talks, Cohen said that his proposal is a worthy one that her party would be happy to cooperate with, if the other side shows sincerity of intentions. In her view, the decision of the Chairman of the Constitution Committee to continue the legislative process is also a blatant disregard for the request of the President. "This shows their intentions and how much they are actually willing to compromise."