Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated again in Israel against the Netanyahu government’s controversial judicial reform – although the prime minister stopped his proposed legislation for the time being on Monday. The main rally of the nationwide protests was in Tel Aviv for the 13th consecutive Saturday. According to media reports, more than 170,000 people gathered there. “The government doesn’t want an agreement, it just wants to gain time to pass the judicial coup,” the organizers said. “Netanyahu’s attempt to silence the demonstrators has failed.” More than 450,000 people are said to have taken to the streets in around 150 locations across the country.
The biggest protests were in Tel Aviv
(Photo: ILAN ROSENBERG/REUTERS)
The demonstrators waved Israeli flags and held signs that read: “Democracy is stronger than this government” or “Arrest Netanyahu”. There were also pictures showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in orange prison clothes. In Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, the demonstrators blocked several streets. Occasionally there were clashes with the police and arrests. In Tel Aviv, the police used water cannons.
After massive protests and a general strike, Netanyahu postponed the highly controversial legislative proposal for a few weeks on Monday in order to “make room for dialogue”. Several talks between the coalition and the opposition have taken place since Tuesday.
Opposition leader Jair Lapid also took part in the protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday. “We are on guard. The danger is not over yet,” he wrote on Twitter. Recently he had repeatedly doubted Netanyahu’s seriousness in wanting to reach a compromise.
With the judicial reform, Netanyahu’s coalition wants to curtail the influence of the Supreme Court and expand the government’s position of power. She accuses the court of excessive interference in political decisions. In the future, for example, Parliament should be able to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority. The reform is also intended to give the government control over the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court. Critics see the separation of powers in danger and warn of a state crisis if the reform is implemented in this way.