An estimated 110,000 Israelis turned out to two rallies in Tel Aviv on Shabbos to protest a proposed reform to the justice system. This is the third such event in the coastal city in as many weeks. Thousands more rallied in Haifa, Yerushalayim and Beer Sheva.
Politicians addressing protesters in Tel Aviv included opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and alternate prime minister.
“What you see here today is a demonstration in favor of the country. People who love this country came here to defend it, its democracy and its courts,” Lapid said at the larger of the two demonstrations outside the Azrieli center.
Gantz said that “we encourage the protest and see it as backing for our political activity at the various levels. We can argue about many things, just not about Israeli democracy. We are ready to reach agreements on the reform, but that does not mean that we will compromise on democracy. There will be no compromise on democracy, the rule of law and a strong and independent judiciary.”
Another speaker was the celebrated Israeli novelist David Grossman, who said that “the house is on fire. Now is the time that we assert who we truly are and what kind of future we bequeath to our children.”
Earlier this month Yariv Levin, a justice minister in Bibi Netanyahu’s right-wing government, announced a plan to hand more powers to lawmakers in appointing judges and overriding Supreme Court decisions.
Critics say Levin’s reforms would cripple judicial independence, set back minority rights and compromise the credibility of the courts system. Among those opposed are the Supreme Court chief justice and the country’s attorney-general, while critics of the Supreme Court say it is overreaching and unrepresentative of the electorate. – i24 News
Why doesn’t anyone call them out that the Israeli Supreme Court system is the complete antithesis of a democracy
We love you Bibi, Ben Gevir, Smotrich, & wish you הצלחה רבה עד מאד with your amazing agenda, and don’t let these cry baby leftists quel nor quash your extremely urgently needed agenda to quash the exceedingly wicked Supreme Court nor all other goodies on your manifesto
Millions voted for the parties in the government coalition. What’s 110k demonstrators? Why should a relatively tiny vocal minority dictate how the country is governed?
A: Please don’t quote the exaggerated numbers that Israel’s leftist media is pumping out. The first rally claimed to have had about 5 times the possible capacity of the venue in which it took place, with estimated numbers already being quoted 2 days before… If they say 110,000 then that means about 10,000…
B: Of course the chief justice and his cronies are opposed to the reforms. They and their predecessors have hijacked the judicial system in Israel and turned it into a leftist-intellectual-woke-anti religious-anti Israel kangaroo court. Of course they don’t want that power stripped from them. Of course the left is against this, because a proper justice system will be impartial, not completely unbalanced to the left.
And again we see how the liberal, accepting, equal-rights left in Israel is no different than the one in the US. It’s accepting as long as you agree with them. Otherwise, it will riot, burn, loot and destroy everything. Wait and see where this continues… ה”י.
so now we know how many extreme leftists there are in israel. big deal.
Blocking roads and streets is very dangerous.