WEBVTT - Netanyahu Exclusive Interview; Trump's Lawyer Speaks Out 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:03.040 Good morning. 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.040 I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Amy Morris. Here are the 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:07.680 stories we're following today. 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:10.920 We begin this morning with a political shift of sorts 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:14.120 in Israel. Protests have raged across the country for months 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:18.079 after a sweeping proposal to overhaul Israel's judicial system, But 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:22.279 now Benjamin Natanyahu appears to be softening his stance. That's 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:25.160 the news he gave us In an exclusive Bloomberg interview, 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.880 Netanyahu says he will not pursue the entire overhaul as 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:29.920 originally planned. 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.920 I'm still going to give it several months to try 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:35.800 to get another consensus. What is it. It would probably 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.120 be about the composition of the committee that elects judges. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.159 I don't think we should move from one extreme where 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:45.440 we have perhaps the most activist judicial court on the planet, 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:49.839 to get into a point where the legislature are can 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.440 just knock out any decision that the court makes. There 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:54.560 has to be a balance. That's what we're trying to restore. 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.160 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyah, who also tells us he 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.920 wants to deepen his country's economic and business times with 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.960 Saudi Arabia. Stay tuned for more of that interview coming 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:05.559 up shortly on Bloomberg day. 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:06.400 Break and Nathan. 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.160 Politics is also front and center here in the US, 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.840 as Donald Trump's indictments weigh on the race for president. 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:15.840 According to a new CBS News you go pull more 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.480 than half of America and say the former president tried 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.440 to stay in office through illegal means. Trump's lawyer John 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.240 Laurel made the rounds on the Sunday political talk shows 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.640 defending the former president. Here he is on ABC's This Week. 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:30.440 It's up to the government to prove these things. The 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.560 defense has no obligation to prove anything. We put the 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.840 government to its test. The government must prove beyond a 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.800 reasonable doubt that President Trump had criminal intent. 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.880 Trump lawyer John Laurel was a guest on nearly all 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:43.880 of the Sunday shows, which you can hear every week 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:45.640 right here on Bloomberg Radio. 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.600 Well back on Wall Street Amy. Economic data are and 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.640 focus again this week. The latest reading on consumer prices 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.440 comes out Thursday that could help the Federal Reserve to 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:57.000 sign its next move right now. FED Governor Michelle Bowman 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.880 says more rate hikes may be needed, while Atlanta Fed 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:03.560 President Rafael Bostik says the Central Bank may be done. 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.840 At the same time, Bostic seas policy staying tighter for longer. 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.799 I'm not expecting this to be a two month or 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:10.600 three month period. 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.480 My outlook is that we'll still be in a restrictive territory. 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:14.680 Well. 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.480 In the twenty twenty four Atlanta Fed chief Rafael Bostik 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:21.160 made those comments on a special edition of Bloomberg's Wall 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.079 Street Week. Subscribe or download the show wherever you get 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:25.520 your podcasts. 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:27.280 And we have earnings to tell you about this morning. 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.760 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway beat results in its latest report 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:33.320 Bloomberg's Denise Palegreenei as it tales. 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.560 Billionaire Warren Buffett's conglomerate is reporting second quarter operating profit 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.560 that beat the average analyst estimate, thanks in part to 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.720 strength and insurance units and also its acquisition of Alleghany. 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.000 But Berkshire had to raise prices and cut advertising at 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.239 Geico to make those numbers, and that could already be backfiring. 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.040 Over the last twelve months, policies enforce fell by two 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.799 point seven millions, suggesting a loss of market share. Denise 0:02:57.800 --> 0:02:59.120 Pellegrini Bloomberg Day Break. 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:00.840 Okay, Denise, thank you, and it's going to be another 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.720 busy week for earnings, with results from nearly three dozen 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.640 companies in the S and P five hundred expected. Bloomberg's 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:08.280 Charlie Pellett joins us with that. 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.239 We've heard from roughly eighty percent of S and P 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:13.800 five hundred companies, but there will be plenty more to 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:18.000 come this week. Amid questions about current market valuations given 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.919 the prospects for corporate earnings, Nattie lovell Is, senior US 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.800 equity STRATEGISTICT ubs financial services. 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:27.639 Well looking for sort of mid single digit growth over 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:29.680 the next twelve months, so we think that this market 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.600 is probably cap as a result of the earn is outlook. 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.880 Among this week's most closely watched reports will be Walt 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:41.160 Disney Ups, Lily Take two Entertainment, and Rivian Automotive in 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.160 New York. Charlie Palette, Bloomberg Daybreak. 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:44.640 Thank you, Charlie. 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.000 Elsewhere in corporate news, trucking firm Yellow has officially filed 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.920 for bankruptcy following years of financial woes for Yellow that 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.520 were compounded by a labor force dispute. The shutdown leaves 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:59.600 roughly thirty thousand employees jobless. It comes on the heels 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.320 of accountroversial seven hundred million dollar pandemic relief loan that 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.840 Yeller received three years ago. Congressional investigators concluded last year 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:10.120 that the company was ineligible. 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:10.040 For the loan. 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.960 Overseas, Amy, it looks like Credit Sweez is making cuts 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.440 in Asia. That's according to Reuters, which says the firm 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:17.760 is laying off about eighty percent of its Hong Kong 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.280 based investment banking staff. Hong Kong accounts for the biggest 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.040 share of investment bankers in Asia for Credit Swise. 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:27.679 Although Big Tech has already reported earnings for this quarter, 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.000 we still have some news out of Silicon Valley, Elon 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:33.520 Musk resurrecting the idea of a cage fight with Mark 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:38.000 Zuckerberg and promising to stream it live. Bloomberg's Ed Baxter 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:39.000 with those details. 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:43.279 As the business competition grows with metas threads and Musk's X. 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.320 Musk has posted that the fight will be streamed on X. 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.400 So the question, which seem to be is Musk just 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:54.040 social media trolling? Aganner as he heard more from Zuckerberg, 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.279 who had earlier responded for us to let him know 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.640 where and when Zuckerberg is a martial arts enthusiast whose 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.919 participate paid this year and competition, and Musk says he 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.760 has been lifting weights throughout the day in preparation. In 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.640 San Francisco. I'm at Baxter Bloomberg Daybreak. 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:11.839 Thank you, Ed, and we are learning this morning that 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.520 the timing of the alleged fight may be in flux. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.040 That's according to Elon Musk, who says he's getting an 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.960 MRI on his neck and upper back and may need 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:25.080 surgery before the fight can happen. And hot temperatures across 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.680 the US were back and focused over the weekend. Triple 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.440 digit temperatures in Texas, but pressure on the power grid 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.240 causing prices to jump more than eight hundred percent. Households 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.159 and businesses in the state used a record amount of electricity, 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:40.479 but the grid held up throughout the weekend. This is 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:49.680 Bloomberg and time now for a look at some of 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.240 the other stories making news around the world. For that, 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.800 we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael bar Good morning. 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:58.440 Michael, Good morning. Amy. Russia launched more than seventy missiles 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.840 and drones at Ukraine in one of its biggest assaults 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.359 in recent weeks. An escalation of force after two Russian 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.520 ships were hit and damaged by drones in the Black Sea. 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:14.080 Fi their Oleg Miroslav of the Transfiguration Cathedral, an Orthodox 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:18.239 cathedral ravaged by a Russian missile last month, was asked 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:22.560 about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Miroslav, speaking to a reporter 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.080 through a translator. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:27.000 Can Vladimir Putin be called a true Christian. 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:27.880 One? 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:28.400 Of course not. 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.320 I don't even have to think about it, because Christians 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:32.520 don't kill others. 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:33.600 They help each other. 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:34.799 Ristiana Pamaga. 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:37.839 Should Vladimir Putin be forgiven? 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.839 And a voi show every person deserves to be forgiven, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:43.480 but the most important judgment comes from God. 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.560 Meanwhile, the footprint of President Vladimir Putin's war or Ukraine 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:51.359 is growing fast after a weekend in which sea drones 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:55.240 crippled a Russian naval vessel and oil tanker. The attacks 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:58.960 put at risk Russia's commodity exports via the Black Sea, 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.120 a route that accounts for most of the grain and 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:05.239 fifteen to twenty percent of the oil that rushes sales 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:09.679 daily on global markets. Significantly higher insurance and shipping costs 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:13.920 are likely to follow from Moscow. A fire fighting tragedy 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.160 in California. An emotional briefing overnight, cow Fire official David 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.960 Fulcher confirming that there were multiple depths. When two choppers 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.520 collided Sunday as the crew members battled a brush fire 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:26.920 in Riverside County. 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:30.560 The first helicopter was able to land safely nearby. Unfortunately, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:34.720 the second helicopter crashed and tragically all three members perished, 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:40.920 which included one CalFire Division Chief, one cal Fire Captain 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:42.920 and one contract pilot. 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:47.440 Cawfire's David Fulcher. In Portugal, Pope frances Is wrapping up 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.000 his five day trip there. The Pope was greeted by 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:53.960 massive crowds, including the biggest one yesterday for World Youth 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.920 Day in Lisbon. Roughly eight hundred thousand young Catholics gathered 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.320 see Pope Francis at the one every three year festival. 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.200 Global News twenty four hours a day, powered by more 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.920 than twenty seven hundred journalist and analysts in over one 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:10.080 hundred and twenty countries. How michaelbar this is Bloomberg Gaming. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:17.280 All right, Thank you, Michael, Tom now for our Bloomberg 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.120 Sports update. For that, we bring in John's dash hour. 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.320 Any by far the worst Women's World Cup for the 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.000 United States barely made it out of group play and 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.640 then its earliest exit ever, failing to even reach the quarterfinals. 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:32.640 The US lost to swedeen scoreless. Played for two hours, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.079 the US had a three two lead and the penalty 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:39.000 kicks and then lost five to four. Meghan Rappino missed hurt. 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.560 Oh, we played really well. I'm so happy for us 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.560 that we went out like that, playing the way that 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.840 we did, and you know, having a ton of joining 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:51.240 the ball. I mean, this is like a sick joke 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.600 for me personally. I'm just like, this is dark comedy. 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:55.199 I missed a. 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:57.800 Penalty pinot on Fox Sports after the game. She had 0:08:57.840 --> 0:08:59.720 not missed a PK playing for her country since two 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:03.120 thousand eighteen. It was her final match playing for the 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:07.360 US scene with Julie ERTs. Meanwhile, Leonel Messi two more goals. 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.600 He has scored seven in his first four games playing 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.680 for Miami and MLS. They trailed four to two and 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:17.720 rallied to beat Dallas in penalty kicks. Windham Golf in Greensboro, 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.920 Lucas Glover twenty under part one by two at the 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.440 live event in West Virginia. Bryson Deshamba, who had a 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.160 sixty one on Saturday, came back with a round of 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:30.120 fifty eight that would have tied the PGA record. Jim 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:33.960 Furick had a fifty eight back in twenty sixteen baseball, 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:36.400 the Oriel seventieth win of the season. They shout out 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.480 the Mets to nothing and the Nationals won sixty three 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:41.160 at Cincinnati. The Red Sox swept at home by Toronto 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.440 Blue Jays won thirteen to one Battle of the Bay. 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.120 The Ages beat the Giants eight to six. John Stansh 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:48.880 Edward Bloomberg sports. 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.560 From coast to coast, from New York to San Francisco, 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:55.680 Boston to Washington, DC. 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.760 Nationwide on Syrias XAM, the Bloomberg Business app in Bloomberg. 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:04.320 This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:07.960 I'm Nathan Hager. For month's protests have gripped Israel. The 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:12.679 demonstrations have been targeted at a controversial judicial overhaul imposed 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:17.080 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahoo. He says israel system allows 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.560 judges to play too big a role in government, and 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:23.400 he's outlined plans to change how judges are selected. That 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:27.720 did spark the largest anti government protest movement in Israel's history. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.079 Now in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg News, Prime Minister 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:34.920 Benjamin Netanyaho appears to be softening his stance. He sat 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:39.000 down for that wide ranging conversation with Bloomberg's Francine Loqua, 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:43.120 saying he now will not pursue the entire judicial overhaul. 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.080 Let's listen into that conversation. 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:48.240 Now. Well, I think that we've already done quite a bit. 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:53.640 I have stopped the judicial legislation for three months, seeking 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:57.199 consissants from the other side, unfortunately not getting it, then 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:01.079 brought in a relatively minor part of the reform past it, 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.560 and then said I'm still going to give it several 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.719 months to try to get another consensus. What is it? 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.840 It would probably be about the composition of the committee 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:11.280 that elects judges. 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.120 With the selection of the judges, how they're selected. 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:18.680 Right, That's basically what's left. And because other things I 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.560 think we should not legislate. I don't think we should 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.440 move from one extreme where we have perhaps the most 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:28.640 activist judicial court on the planet, to get into a 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:32.360 point where the legislature arencit can just knock out any 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.880 decision that the court makes. There has to be a balance. 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.640 That's what we're trying to restore supremis. When you look 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.840 at the change in selection for the judges, how quickly 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:41.600 could that come? 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:44.439 Well, if we get a compromise, it could come immediately. 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:48.119 If we can't get a buy in from the opposition 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:50.920 in the parliament, there's always a buy in from the public. 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:54.160 What is the thing that the public accepts? And I'm 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:57.680 giving it my best shot. I'm spending I wouldn't say 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:00.880 twenty four hours a day on it, about twelve hours 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:01.199 a day. 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.840 And if the public is not behind it, what do 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:04.840 you do? 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:06.840 I think you should choose something. I think you should 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.880 choose something that has broad acceptance, which looks like one 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.880 which looks like something that I'd like to negotiate, not 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:14.560 on not even on Bloomberg. 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.640 Okay, but give me a flavor of is it walking 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:19.880 back some of some of the things that have been 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.000 said by certain ministers around you? 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.960 Oh, ministers can say anything. I don't control words in 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:29.400 our parliamentary system. I control deeds and that has to 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.360 be understood. But since you know the European system, you 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:38.160 know that unlike a presidential system, you don't control the 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:40.240 you know what is said by members of. 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.320 Your cabinet, but you can ask them tone it down. 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.120 Have you asked them to tone it down. 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.200 One hundred times and they're listening. I succeeded fifty times. 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:51.600 Don't You can always succeed. You don't always succeed. But 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:54.520 that's what's important to understand, is what is when the 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:59.280 dust settles? Are we going to have Israel that is more, 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.680 is stronger democratically or is it weaker democratically? Is it 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.319 something where you're going to have the balance that you 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.080 need between the will of the majority and the rights 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.040 of the minority or individual rights. Has that been strengthened, 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:14.760 that balance or has it been weakened. I maintained it'll 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:16.800 be strengthened. It certainly will not be right premise. 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.680 So there are a lot of questions, especially from investors, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.600 especially from businesses, because you always need a body that 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.280 makes sure that anything that the government passes is legal, 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:27.760 and there's maybe a perception problem. But this is weakened. 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.120 So what is the message to business investors and to 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:32.319 markets right now? 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.880 I don't think it's weakened. I think the ultimate actually 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:38.360 I think the ultimate regulator of the democracies are not courts, 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.400 but are the public choice. I think that's a fundamental 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.320 misconception of how democracy's work. 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:45.360 We always need someone to overlook them. 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.760 But if you have a lowser government, then they're not 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:50.920 re elected. That's the most important thing. The most important 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:54.960 regulator is the political markets. But I don't think that 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.439 we should in any way weaken the courts. There's a 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:02.800 difference between between an independent court and an all powerful court, 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:04.640 and I think what we're trying to do is bring 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.120 back to Israel where it was in its first fifty years, 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:10.760 where there was an adequate balance between the courts, the 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:12.760 legislature and the executive Prime Minister. 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.560 There's a perception problem, maybe, if that's what you think, 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.640 But there's certainly a division in this country, with hundreds 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:22.640 of thousands of people protesting and market participants worried about 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.600 what happens next. What's your message to them? 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.040 When the dust set Israel will not only will remain 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.400 a democracy, it will be even a stronger democracy. But 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.160 more importantly, it will not in any way impair the 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:40.640 enormous business and economic capabilities of Israel in the new 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:41.800 technological age. 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.120 But Premister, when does this dust settle? So far, you 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.880 haven't even been prepared to say that you will follow 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:48.920 what the Supreme Court decides. 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:51.280 Now, we follow what the Supreme Court decides on. The 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:55.800 Supreme Court so far has also followed the basic rule 0:14:55.800 --> 0:15:00.320 of not striking down basic laws, which they themselves dean 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:03.280 are the basis of the Constitution. Both things have to 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:03.880 be maintained. 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.000 So what would you tell markets and investors today that 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.920 whatever they decide right there's something big that's going to 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:11.400 be decided in the next couple of months, you will 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:12.040 abide by that. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.240 I hope that we don't get into a constitutional crisis. 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.600 I think we won't. I think there's a way of 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.880 reaching an equitable compromise, which is what I'm trying to do. Now. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.880 If I reveal to you everything that I'm trying to do, 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:26.960 I won't be able to do it. 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.040 But the market wants to understand that there's nothing worse 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:31.920 for the markets for investors to actually be in the 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.520 Limbu where you're not sure exactly what will happen or 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:37.960 how the government will react. 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:44.760 I'm absolutely sure that Israel will come out stable and 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.720 successful and democratic, at least as democratic it my view, 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.360 more democratic. I don't think we're going to tear the 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:53.440 country apart. I don't think you're going to have civil war. 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.640 I think right now what you're seeing is the natural 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:03.040 conflict between opposing views that have not yet meshed, but 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:03.800 they will mesh. 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.680 Do you support your central bank governor, who is very 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.120 well respected internationally? 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:09.840 Sure, I appointed him. 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.240 Will you back him for another term? He has to decide, 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:14.520 I think by next month. 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:16.440 Well, I haven't talked to him yet, but I will, 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:22.640 but I've guarded I would say rigorously his independence and 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:24.800 the independence of the Central Bank, and that will continue 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.560 to be the policy. I will talk to him, but 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:30.880 you wouldn't believe this, but he just not had the 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:32.320 opportunity to discuss that. 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.760 But when you talk to him, will you ask him 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:35.440 to stay on? 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:39.560 Possibly? I want to think about right now. I think 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:43.560 he's been an exceptional Central Bank director, and I think 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.640 that's a possibility that I'll have to talk to him 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:46.720 about one. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.760 Of your ministers I think called him a savage for 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:49.880 raising interest rates. 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:54.080 Yeah, well, my ministers in our hectic parliamentary system could 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:57.920 say anything, but it's a fact that we've never intervened 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.880 with the independence of the Central Bank and we won't. 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:06.359 In fact, I think I passed some laws or corrective 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.399 additional laws that safeguarded the independence of the Central Bank. 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.359 I do not want the government broaching in on what 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:15.600 the central bank has to do. 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.439 So do you support the interest rate hikes? 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.200 I'd leave that decision to the central Bank. You know, 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:25.720 I've had several central Bank directors because I've been in 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.520 government a long time. I think in a few months 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.080 I'll be probably more time in as Prime Minister than 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.280 anybody in the western world for the last half century. 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:37.520 So I've had a lot of central bank directors to 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.960 talk to. I always talk to them in a padded room, 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:46.320 absolutely sound proof that we could hurled at each other 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.480 whatever we want. But when I come out, I always 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:51.480 give backing to the central back to it. 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.320 But Prime Minister, it would be pretty powerful or a 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.919 pretty powerful message to the markets, given the divisions and 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.640 given the turmoil, if you were to ask to stay. 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:04.440 On, could be that's a consideration. I'll consider it. 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.680 But do you agree would that be a powerful message? 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.119 I think the powerful message is the independence of the 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:12.160 Central Bank, and I think the choices that I've made 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:15.600 in bringing in central bank directors, whether it was Stanley 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:21.560 Fisher and after him the current Central Bank director, I 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.560 think people see that we choose and choose well, and 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.480 that will not and some others in between. 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.439 I don't want it, and that will not change. 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:30.800 No, it will. 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.680 You're overhauling the juiciary, but the central bank won't be. 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:36.600 I'm not overhauling the judiciary. I'm correcting the judiciary to 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.240 where it was. I don't think we'll get there, but 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:42.800 to where it was at Israel's first fifty years before 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.800 the judicial imbalance was created, and I'm trying to bring 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:51.320 it back modestly into line. This is described as the 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.520 end of democracy. Why why is it described as the 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.959 end of democracy? Because we say that the judiciary in Israel, 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:04.439 and in Israel alone, cannot say I'm striking down a 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:09.000 government decision or a parliamentary law simply because I think 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.360 it's unreasonable. That doesn't exist to that extent. 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:15.080 No, but it's a check in balance. And this is 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.240 what again, this is what investors are worried about, many 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.760 of checks kind of So I was going to ask you, 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:23.960 what's your message today for a business that wants to 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.840 come here that's a little bit nervous about what they 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:28.320 can do longer term? 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:30.919 There is no absence of checks in Israel. The courts 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.199 have all the checks, but they have no balance. So 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:35.120 if you're concerned that the court will not be able 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.000 to intervene in certain decisions, they've got one hundred different 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:42.679 checks on that. But one thing that we want to 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:47.080 have is not to be able to have the court 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:51.639 intervene on anything, on any matter without any reference to 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:55.640 any statute or any law. That is not democracy. 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:58.119 It's my understanding. They've only done that a handful of times. 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:00.560 But if you're an investor today, right, and you look 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.200 at Israel that has to deal with Saudi, that has 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.159 to deal with Iran, why are you falling on the 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:07.520 sword about the judiciary. 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:09.280 Well, I'm not falling on the sword. I'm trying to 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:13.080 correct it imbalance because people, because millions of Israelis vote 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:19.000 timing again for governments who want to have certain government policies, okay, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.399 And the governments are elected and they want to enact 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:28.080