MK Efrat Rayten (Labor) spoke to Israel National News on Sunday, a day before the Knesset is scheduled to approve in the first reading some of the bills related to the judicial reform.
"We are preparing for a day that will be very stormy. We will continue the discussions in the Constitution Committee starting in the morning as we do every day, continue to try and influence the outline presented to us by the chairman of the committee regarding the legislation he is promoting," she said.
Rayten acknowledged that the opposition's efforts have not yielded much success, and yet "we are still trying to do our best, both to influence and to express reservations about the manner of the legislation as well as the essence and our understanding that it will harm the democratic capabilities of the country."
Starting on Monday afternoon, Rayten said, her fellow opposition members are expected to go outside and meet the demonstrators who will be protesting outside the Knesset building. On the possibility that the protests will lead to some kind of understanding by the members of the coalition that the process is not being handled properly, she responded in the affirmative.
"Perhaps not all of them. You can't paint the coalition in one color. There are many voices there, but there are attentive people. I don't think there is a government that wants its term to begin with such a storm of condemnations from the world, protests throughout the country and more. There is an uneasy feeling among the citizens and there is nogovernment that wants this to be how its term begins. Therefore, I believe that there are people there who are looking for ways to calm the spirits and listen. There are people there who are aware of the size of the protest and they will give expression to it, but there is still a gap between what we see among members of the coalition who disapprove [of the process], and the intentions and feelings of senior members of the coalition."
At the same time, Rayten clarified that she is not "relying" on anyone from the coalition to bring about change.
"Many times, strong opinions produce a strong reaction on the other side. The coalition’s fast tracking and the way in which it promotes the moves is what created the sharp counter-reaction. Had things been done differently, the reaction would have been less sharp,” she claimed.
Rayten expressed her personal disappointment at the very fact that the vote in the first reading is taking place already on Monday.
"In my view, this is a mistake. In the end we will have to find a way to preserve the democratic foundations of the country. This would be good and appropriate because we are all proud of our country, its successes and achievements, and much of this happens because of its legal foundations, which go hand in hand with Judaism," she stated.