Jerusalem, Israel – In what was considered one of the largest protests in Israeli history, more than 80,000 people rallied in Jerusalem on Monday against judicial reforms proposed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other protests were also held across the country.
Protesters marched and gathered outside Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, carried flags and chanted “democracy” and “no to dictatorship” as Netanyahu’s government formally launched a controversial plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.
Under the suggested plan, which was presented in mid-January, the ruling coalition will have control over the appointment of judges, including high court judges, and will allow the Knesset to re-legislate laws that the court strikes down with a simple majority of votes. 61 of the 120 members of the Knesset.
The government may also appoint the president and vice president of the supreme court, neither of whom must have previously served on the court and possibly not even been a lower court judge. Justice Minister Yariv Levin has argued that the supreme court has overstepped its authority over the past two decades and seriously interfered with the ability of coalitions and elected ministers to enact government policy.
Some 80,000 Israelis gathered to protest against the judicial reforms promoted by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. (Maya Mesel)
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Addressing the tens of thousands of protesters, Eliad Shraga, founder and president of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, and one of the organizers of the protest, opened his speech with a quote from the Book of Isaiah: “Listen, oh heavens , and give Hear, earth, for the Lord has said: I brought up and brought up sons, and they rebelled against me. Isaiah was the prophet who foresaw the destruction of the Second Temple, and Shraga warned of the destruction of the third temple; the state of israel
He warned that “day and night, in the constitution, law and justice committee, he is pushing anti-democratic legislation, the laws that will transform Israel overnight from a liberal democracy to a fascist dictatorship.”
On Sunday, President Isaac Herzog called on Netanyahu and his coalition allies to suspend the legislation and open a dialogue with the opposition in a special televised address to the nation. Netanyahu has not responded to the appeal.
Herzog stressed the importance of reaching a broad compromise and laid out his five-point plan for Israel’s balance of power.
Israelis wave national flags during a protest against plans by the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reform the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, February 13, 2023. Thousands of Israelis protested in front of to the country’s parliament on Monday ahead of a preliminary vote on a bill that would give politicians greater power over the appointment of judges, part of a judicial reform proposal by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
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“Reform is the creation of a camp that feels that the powers [of the branches of government] they are unbalanced,” Herzog said. “I feel, we all feel, that we are one moment away from a clash, maybe even a violent one,” he said. “Both sides need to understand that if only one side wins, it doesn’t matter which side it is – we are all going to lose. The State of Israel will lose.”
Netanyahu posted a short video after the massive rally on Monday in which he called on opposition leaders to “Stop. Stop deliberately deteriorating the country into lawlessness. Take care and show responsibility and leadership. Most Israeli citizens do not they want anarchy. They want a substantive discussion and, in the end, they want unity,” he said.
Despite Herzog’s plea, the Knesset Committee on Constitution, Law and Justice, headed by MK Simcha Rothman, approved the second bill that would prevent the Supreme Court from striking down legislation amending one of the basic semi-constitutional laws. of Israel, effectively restricting the court’s power of judicial review. on fundamental issues.
The vote now sends the legislation to the entire parliament for a series of votes. The move caused chaos in the committee, as opposition members who opposed the move yelled at Rothman “shame” and were removed from the meeting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, February 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool)
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Outside, the protesters kept coming. Parents pushed baby carriages, seniors and others marched waving Israeli flags. Women’s organizations marched in red capes and white caps, declaring that “Israel will not become Gilead,” in reference to The Handmaid’s Tale. This is “a warning against the transformation of the State of Israel from an egalitarian democracy to a theocracy that separates women and tramples on their rights,” they said in a statement to Fox News digital.
Before joining the protesters in front of the Knesset, the opposition leaders held a joint press conference and called on some members of Netanyahu’s Likud to “stop the mess.” Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that “the entire opposition and many more Israeli citizens who voted for the coalition parties are united against the ‘targeted assassination’ being carried out against Israeli democracy.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned that if the bill passes, it will destroy Israeli society. “If this legislation passes, it will end the democratic chapter in the life of the state,” which would put an end to Israeli democracy.”
Following the protest, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Rothman, who orchestrated and initiated the reform, called on opposition leaders to “start talking without preconditions. It’s time,” they said, addressing the opposition leader. , Yair Lapid, and the leader of the National Unity Party, Benny Gantz.
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Protesters march against the Israeli government’s new judicial reforms in Jerusalem on Monday. (Maya Mesel)
Both Lapid and Gantz responded that they were both willing to join the negotiations as long as they stopped the legislative process during the talks. Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli told Fox News Digital that “as long as there is a gun at the head of Israeli democracy, there can be no discussion of anything with Rothman and Levin. Anything else is surrender.”
David Amsalem, who serves as a minister in the Justice Ministry, said during a Knesset debate that the protesters were “anarchists and thugs.” We will pass this legislation, and whoever defies it will face criminal charges.”
Yonat Friling is a Senior Producer for Fox News. You can follow her @FrilingYonat
