Berlin (dpa) – Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed efforts by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to defuse planned judicial reforms by the government under Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking at the Federal Government’s Day of Open Doors in Berlin on Sunday, Scholz, a member of Germany’s SPD party, said he supported Herzog’s approach to the issue, whereby a simple majority should not rule over a minority. Scholz stressed that democracy and the rule of law included “potentially being able to live your whole life as a minority without having to be afraid.” He said he hoped that democratic principles such as the separation of powers, protecting minorities, constitutional stability and a broad structure of senior courts would be preserved in Israel.
For over six months, Israel has seen regular mass protests against the policies of the government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu. In late July the coalition government passed a controversial law as part of their efforts to restructure the judicial system, stripping the supreme court of its power to rule against “unreasonable” decisions by the government.
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