Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) announced on Monday that they had reached out to opposition leader and Yesh Atid chair MK Yair Lapid and National Unity chair MK Benny Gantz in order to set a joint meeting at the president's residence, "even as soon as tonight."
"We call on the heads of the opposition to begin a dialogue without preconditions. The time has come," Levin and Rothman wrote.
Lapid responded, "As the president stressed in his speech and as was explained over and over again, the necessary condition to begin national dialogue is an immediate stop of all of the legislative processes for a set time, in which there will be dialogue with the president's mediation. If minister Levin and MK Rothman agree, we would be happy to meet at the president's residence tomorrow morning.
"I bless the president's initiative to hold real dialogue that will deal with ways to fix the judicial system and restore the balance of power between it and the other branches of government."
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha
Levin stated minutes later, "we were very sorry to read the opposition leader's message, from which it sounds like his only desire is to stop the legislation and not hold real dialogue. We call on any other member of the opposition to act differently. We will be happy to meet tonight with any member of the opposition for true dialogue."
Lapid countered, "If minister Levin and MK Rothman actually meant their offer seriously, they would have agreed to stop the legislation until the end of the dialogue, and perhaps even would have cared to update the president and I instead of hearing it in the media," Lapid said.
Later on Monday evening, Gantz tweeted that he had spoken with Levin and confirmed that he would only be willing to further the conversation if the legislation process was halted.
Organizers of the protests against the judicial reforms called on Lapid and Gantz to reject the invitation, arguing that "there is no dialogue without discarding the legislation."
Labor chair MK Merav Michaeli also called on Lapid and Gantz to reject the invitation.
"No to talks without the legislation being shelved," she wrote on Twitter. "I call on my friends Gantz and Lapid: until the legislation has been shelved and so long as there is a gun at the head of Israeli democracy, there can be no discussion of anything with Rothman and Levin. Anything else is surrender. Anything else destroys the protests. Just today, we presented a united front in the face of their attempt to assassinate democracy. It is our duty to preserve it," Michaeli wrote.
Coalition proceeds despite Herzog's requests
Despite President Herzog's call on Sunday night to halt the legislative proceedings, the coalition will likely bring the first of the judicial reform's provisions to a vote on its first reading on Monday, February 20, a spokesperson for Levin confirmed.
While the initial plan was to hold the first reading already this Wednesday, it will likely only happen on Monday for technical reasons, as Wednesday's plenum is usually reserved for private MK's laws, while the current one is a committee-initiated law, the spokesperson explained.
"If minister Levin and MK Rothman actually meant their offer seriously, they would have agreed to stop the legislation until the end of the dialogue, and perhaps even would have cared to update the president and I instead of hearing it in the media."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid
However, the vote on Wednesday is still possible, and, without having to admit it, Levin may have chosen the delay in order to enable a full week for the sides to negotiate.
Levin, the architect of the reforms, gave a mixed message in a statement late Sunday night following Herzog's speech. While he welcomed the president's speech and supported dialogue, he rejected the proposal to halt the legislation.
"There is in his [Herzog's] proposal positive components, but there are also components that perpetuate the current improper state," Levin said. "Like I said throughout the entire process, I am willing and interested in holding real dialogue with opposition members who agree to do so, and this should happen immediately."
"In order for the dialogue not to become a way to drag on in order to delay and prevent an essential and significant reform in the legal system, we should not link the dialogue and the advancement of the legislative proceedings.
"Alongside the legislation, we all have enough time in order to talk and arrive at understandings before the second and third readings."
Rothman willing to hold talks but not to halt proceedings
The reform's second architect, Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), expressed in a statement ahead of Monday morning's committee session a willingness to negotiate at the president's residence.
"I call on my friends in the opposition, and to Esther Hayut, High Court Chief Justice: Let us go to the president! 'Rise up and go to Zion,' without preconditions.
"I bless the president's initiative to hold real dialogue that will deal with ways to fix the judicial system and restore the balance of power between it and the other branches of government," Rothman began.
Rothman said that he was "moved" by the president's speech, which was given "from honesty and care for the unification of the people," and "gave a voice for many" by explaining the necessity and motivation of the coalition to advance the reforms.
Rothman said that the president's proposal was not too far away from his own, but said that with goodwill the sides would be able to come to an agreement.
However, the date of the vote in the Knesset plenum for the first reading was not up to him, and was "dependent on many variables."
Rothman added that while he believed talks could be held parallel to the legislative process and without delaying it, he was willing to begin negotiations without delay.
After calling on the opposition and Hayut to go to the president he said, "We will respect the president and his call, as well as the importance of the hour that it represents, and show the large public that is lifting its eyes to us that we are capable of sitting and talking."
"We must not lose valuable time fighting and struggling over credit. We have a historic opportunity to change old injustices, and return the trust in the judicial system and stand where our forefathers only dreamed of," he concluded.
Other ministers and Knesset members from the Likud had mixed responses to Herzog's proposal.
While Knesset Economy Committee chair MK David Bitan and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) MK Yuli Edelstein supported it, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and MK David (Dudi) Amsalem rejected it, with Amsalem saying to the opposition in the plenum on Monday that the reform would pass "whether you like it or not."
Netanyahu himself did not respond. Channel 12's Amit Segal reported on Monday that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had refused a request by Netanyahu's lawyers to comment on Herzog's proposal, as the prime minister is legally barred from dealing with the matter due to a conflict-of-interest agreement.