The Financial Times devotes an editorial to the judicial reforms. “Netanyahu is steering his country down a calamitous path that threatens the democratic values and ideals of Jewish unity on which it was built,” it argues. “This is a grim moment for a nation that has long sought to hold itself up as a model of democracy in the Middle East… This is a crisis of Netanyahu’s making. His desire to return to power after 18 months in opposition drove him to align with fringe elements of Israel’s right-wing and ultraorthodox Jews at last year’s election after previously alienating more moderate politicians. He regained office by forming the most ultranationalist governing coalition in Israel’s history. That meant acquiescing to extremists’ demands, including security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, appears beholden to the zealots, as well as ideologues in his Likud party such as justice minister Yariv Levin. If the prime minister now blinks, he risks his coalition crumbling.”

The Guardian runs a similarly pessimistic editorial, arguing that “The extremist allies of Mr Netanyahu have been growing in political significance due to the unchecked expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories and the sharply rising ultra-Orthodox population. Their political parties are the bulwarks of the government: Religious Zionism, which embraces an ideology of Jewish supremacy, and United Torah Judaism, which wants the ultra-Orthodox way of life undisturbed and subsidised. Both groups need each other to remain in government. Both see the supreme court as a block to their ambitions. The success of the far right is down to Mr Netanyahu, who has polarised Israeli politics in the last 15 years. He has normalised outright racism, political smears and lies.”

In The Times, Anshel Pfeffer provides a Q&A on the reasonability bill, the wider reforms, and the impact on Israeli society. Pfeffer publishes a separate piece on reservists refusing or threatening to refuse call ups in response to the passing of the reasonability bill, as does The Financial Times. “Sasi Menachem has fought for the Israeli military for more than half his life,” it writes. “But as Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government presses ahead with a controversial effort to weaken the country’s judiciary, for the first time, he is considering not volunteering for reserve duty. ‘I served in all the wars in the past 25 years, I lost friends, and it’s very hard to say I’m not going to turn up when the army calls,’ he said, as protesters rallied outside the Israeli parliament in a vain attempt to stop the first part of the overhaul. ‘But we serve the kingdom, not the king.’”

In similar vein, The BBC speaks to protesters. “‘We are taking a deep breath and looking forward,’ says Shikma Bressler, founder of the Black Flag, one of several groups involved in this year’s mass protests against the government’s proposed judicial reforms. ‘Yesterday, we lost the battle,’ the renowned physicist tells me. ‘But we have started a movement, a huge crowd of people that were not aware of each other and their strengths. Now we need to realise how to use them.’”

In The Independent, Donald Macintyre explores US President Biden’s unprecedented criticism of the reforms. “Paradoxically,” he writes, “his sharp warnings about the overhaul may be because of rather than despite his pro-Israel instincts. For the principal defence of the US’s close alliance with Israel – repeatedly used by Biden himself – is the ‘shared values’ of both countries”, something Macintyre says “becomes unsustainable if Israel itself turns into the authoritarian theocracy that so many middle of the road Israelis – including lots that Biden knows and likes – now fear.”

Polling by both Channel 12 and Channel 13 show narrow prospective Knesset gains for the opposition at the expense of the coalition. According to Channel 12, a vote now would see Likud on 28 seats; National Unity Party 28; Yesh Atid 19; Shas 10; The Religious Zionist Party [running together with Jewish Power] 8; United Torah Judaism 7; Yisrael Beiteinu 6; United Arab List 5; Hadash-Ta’al 5; Meretz 4; Balad 0; Labour Party 0. This results in the  coalition on 53 seats, the opposition on 57, and Hadash-Ta’al and the United Arab List combined on 10. Channel 12 is similar but with an additional seat for the United Arab List. The Channel 12 poll shows Netanyahu continuing to lead opposition leader Yair Lapid on who would make the better prime minister, but tying with Benny Gantz. A plurality wants the remaining elements of the judicial reform scrapped and blames the coalition for the failure to compromise. The Channel 13 poll shows a majority in favour of Gantz and Lapid entering discussions with Netanyahu immediately, though a majority also says it does not believe Netanyahu when he says he wants to compromise on subsequent legislation. A majority of 56% fears civil war, and 28% saying they are considering leaving Israel.

There is wide coverage of the spread of potential resignations and refusal of call ups. Kan Radio reports that more than 700 IDF reservists, including more than 300 pilots and navigators, have informed their commanders they will no longer volunteer for reserve service. One of the flight squadrons at the Hatzerim flight school has also seen a significant drop in the number of reserve instructors. Channel 13 reports that some of Israel’s most senior nuclear scientists, including members of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, are now considering resigning and have threatened to quit their jobs in protest against the judicial reforms. In Yediot Ahronot, meanwhile, Yossi Yehoshua writes that “the threat by IAF reservists not to continue to volunteer for reserve service is beginning to change from what was formerly merely a theoretical possibility into what is now a practical reality.” On the implications of such a state of affairs, Yehoshua says “IDF sources said that a troubling picture has been painted at recent situation assessment meetings, a picture that has been presented in full to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, indicating that readiness for war has begun to become eroded. While the IDF is still defined as being fit for war, military officials have begun to ask some very difficult questions lately, including: Will reservist pilots and other officers who played key roles in the most critical positions reverse their decision and report for duty in the event that a war should break out tomorrow morning in Gaza and Lebanon? Most top security officials are certain that everyone will report for duty.”

Ynet reports that in President Herzog’s efforts to broker a compromise on his return from the US at the weekend, the main stumbling block was over suspending the remaining parts of the broader judicial reform package. It suggests that Opposition Leader Yair Lapid agreed to freeze legislation for 15 months after the grounds of reasonability bill is passed, but Netanyahu was not prepared to freeze the reform for more than five months. Benny Gantz, meanwhile, was unwilling to consider a freeze, wanting a permanent negotiated settlement now. “Behind closed doors,” it alleges, “the president said that Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee MK Simcha Rothman—the co-leader of the push for judicial reform, together with Justice Minister Yariv Levin—was the one who refused to budge. Herzog said agreements could have been reached during the talks at the President’s Residence, including on the grounds of reasonability, but he said Rothman had pushed the talks in an extreme direction.” It further quotes Herzog responding to Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David’s plea that he force a compromise by saying: “What authority do I have? [I can either] resign or speak to the nation. How would it help to have another person step into this instead of me?”

Kan Radio reports Iran and Hamas holding talks concluding that Israel has been weakened by its domestic conflict, but agreeing not to take any immediate action in order to avoid giving Prime Minister Netanyahu an excuse for taking action and blaming them.

Channel 12 covers Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara responding yesterday to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by the Movement for Quality Government. The petition requests that the court strike down the amendment to Basic Law: Government that was passed into law in the winter, making it virtually impossible for attorney general or the courts to declare Netanyahu “incapacitated” for any reason, including a violation of his signed conflict of interest agreement. Baharav-Miara’s response seemed to concur with the petition, accusing Netanyahu of having abused the Knesset to secure his personal legal position. Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar said, “No act could be more anti-democratic than trying to strike down a basic law that was passed by a majority vote in the legislature that was elected in democratic elections. This is what subversion of democracy looks like.” Likud MK Tally Gotliv, a repeated critic of the AG, said, “every law is meaningless as long as she remains  the attorney general and puts spokes in the wheels of governance. Her response… is [the embodiment of] absurdity in all its ugliness.”

Yediot Ahronot quotes a high-ranking Likud MK saying “The price we paid for this [reasonability] bill was far too high in a lot of different areas. There’s nothing to be happy about, even though we did something that we had to do.”