ALL COMEDY IS CONSERVATIVE:

"I believe that a strong, independent court allows for the existence of all other institutions in a democracy," Netanyahu said in his speech.

"I ask that you show me one dictatorship, one undemocratic society, where a strong independent court system exists. There's no such thing," Netanyahu said.

"In fact, the difference between countries in which rights are only on paper and those in which there are actual rights -- that difference is a strong, independent court," he said.

Netanyahu went on to detail the actions he said he had taken to protect the independence of the judicial system.

"This is the reason that I am doing, and will continue to do, everything I can to protect the court system [so that it remains] strong and independent," he said.

The premier said that while there had been attempts to weaken the independence of the judicial system -- some of them the very same, or similar to, changes he is promoting now -- he had made sure they were not enacted.

"Over the past few months alone, I have shelved every law that threatened to harm the independence of the system -- from the attempt to hold hearings for judges in the Knesset, through limiting petitions to the court, to changing the composition of the committee for selecting judges," Netanyahu said.

"I will continue to operate this way. Every time a bill comes across my desk that could harm the independence of Israeli courts, we'll take it off the table," Netanyahu said.

Social media users quipped that Netanyahu's 2012 speech could be used as the keynote for the mass protest on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators plan to take to the streets for the second consecutive weekend to warn against the government's plans.

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