Monday evening, after one of the most dramatic days since protests began 12 weeks ago, PM Netanyahu announced that his government would pause the advance of the controversial judicial reform legislation which sparked the outcry.  Shortly thereafter, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on both the government and the opposition to sit immediately for negotiations. Both sides have indeed already appointed their teams of representatives.

Unfortunately, it is possible that the controversy is not yet over. Leaders of the protest movement announced that they would continue to protest until they received assurance that no judicial reform whatsoever would be passed, adding that they didn’t trust the government. Additionally, the controversial bill still advanced Monday night to the next stage of legislation, a sort of “waiting room” before being voted on. This led many to sound the alarm that Netanyahu’s call for compromise was insincere; a Knesset spokesperson confirmed that the move was routine and did not mean that the bill would necessarily advance immediately.

Please pray for a genuine dialogue between the government and opposition. Please pray also for dialogue between Israelis of different backgrounds and for love and unity to prevail. Lastly, please pray for an outcome that is truly in the best interest of Israel as a nation!