STORY: Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Israel on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial reform. According to Israeli media reports, around 80,000 people took to the streets in Tel Aviv alone despite the rainy weather. There were further demonstrations in Jerusalem and Haifa. “I’m here to demonstrate against the anti-democratic moves of the new government in Israel,” says this man. “They are trying to destroy the democratic structure of the Israeli state. They are working against the Article of Independence, which is the basis of Israeli democracy.” “The current coalition in Israel wants to change the system of rule to make us a dark regime in the world. We will not accept that and we will fight for this democracy.” Netanyahu took over the government in December after the election victory of his Likud party and its allies of religious fundamentalists and right-wing nationalists. The prime minister, often nicknamed “Bibi” in Israel, wants to curtail the power of the supreme court and, according to him, cut it back to an appropriate level. His opponents criticize this as restricting the independence of the judiciary. In addition, they say, the move could encourage corruption in the country. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog warned of a constitutional crisis on Sunday with a view to the controversial reform plans.