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Angry protest against the justice reform: "We are afraid"
Photo:
Ilia Yefimovich / dpa
Numerous people in Israel protested against the planned judicial reform of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
Before new deliberations in parliament on the project, demonstrators blocked the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Wednesday.
"Israel is not a dictatorship, Israel is not Hungary," they chanted.
Many of them waved blue and white flags in the national colors of Israel.
At busy train stations in Tel Aviv, protesters prevented trains from leaving by blocking their doors.
According to Reuters, police officers fired stun grenades in the direction of the protesters, among other things.
Further protests were expected during the course of the day, since the organizers had called for a "Day of Disruption".
Netanyahu's opponents accuse him and his coalition of using the reform in a targeted manner to weaken the judiciary and undermine democracy.
Mass protests have been taking place in Israel for weeks.
“Everyone here is trying to keep Israel a democracy.
We are afraid that we will no longer be a democracy or a free country," Reuters quoted a protester in Tel Aviv as saying.
The far-right Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had announced in advance that he would crack down on the demonstrators.
He will not allow a "mutiny" or "anarchists" to block streets, he said.
The Knesset's Judiciary Committee is due to vote on further parts of the reform on Wednesday.
Among other things, the government wants to use the reform to increase its influence in the selection of judges and to limit the powers of the Supreme Court to overturn laws.
She justifies this with the accusation that the court is dominated by left-leaning judges who, for political reasons, interfere in areas that do not fall within their jurisdiction.
The opposition, on the other hand, sees this as a threat to democracy (you can read more about the background here).
The United States and the federal government also expressed concern.
sol/Reuters/AP
