In Tel Aviv or near the Parliament in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Israeli demonstrators marched on Saturday July 22 to hammer home their opposition to judicial reform. Controversial, this revision is the subject of a crucial vote in the coming days.
The judicial reform, carried by the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, deeply divides Israel, shaken since January by one of the longest protest movements in its history. “Democracy or revolution! »chanted demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday, while tens of thousands of others sang pro-democracy slogans for this 29th evening in a row of mobilization, according to a journalist from Agence France-Presse on the spot.
According to the government, the reform aims, among other things, to rebalance powers, by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, which the executive considers politicized, in favor of Parliament. But its detractors believe that it risks opening the way to an anti-liberal or authoritarian drift.
Debates in Parliament
From Sunday noon in the Knesset (Parliament), debates will be held on a measure of the reform aimed at canceling the possibility for Israeli justice to pronounce on the “reasonableness” government decisions. This clause will then be voted on at 2nd and 3rd readings. If passed, it will be the first major component of the proposed judicial reform to become law.
To put pressure on the deputies, thousands of demonstrators gathered on Saturday evening outside the Knesset and the Supreme Court, in Jerusalem, after having traveled the approximately 65 kilometers between Tel Aviv and the Holy City. Armed with umbrellas for protection from the scorching sun, water bottles and Israeli flags, the marchers marched down a stretch of the highway, stopping at noon and at night. Demonstrations are also taking place in other Israeli cities, such as Beersheva (south), or Kfar Saba and Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, according to the organizers.
Approved at first reading on the night of July 10 to 11, the clause on the “reasonableness” had forced in January Mr. Netanyahu to dismiss the number two of the government, Arié Dery, condemned for tax evasion, following the intervention of the Supreme Court.
USA reviews
Other measures provoke the dissatisfaction of the demonstrators, such as that modifying the process of appointment of judges, already adopted by the deputies at first reading. Critics of the Prime Minister, on trial for corruption, accuse him of wanting to use this reform to mitigate a possible verdict against him.
At least 1,142 Israeli Air Force reservists threatened on Saturday to suspend their voluntary service if the Knesset passes the bill. Any legislation applied in a manner “unreasonable”, “would compromise my will to continue risking my life and would compel me, with great sadness, to suspend my voluntary reserve service”they said, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalates.
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Thursday evening, Mr. Netanyahu, affirmed to remain ” open “ to negotiations with the opposition, while the project also arouses criticism abroad, in particular in the United States, close allies of Israel. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged the Israeli government not to “rush” its reforms and to proceed with caution, in an unusually direct critique of Israel’s domestic politics.