It is a human tide. Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters marched Saturday in Tel Aviv and near parliament in Jerusalem to hammer home their opposition to a controversial judicial reform that is the subject of a crucial vote in the coming days.
This reform, supported by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, deeply divides Israel, shaken since January by one of the longest protest movements in its history. To put pressure on lawmakers, thousands of protesters gathered Saturday night in front of the Knesset and the Supreme Court in Jerusalem after traveling some 65 km between Tel Aviv and the Holy City. Armed with umbrellas to protect themselves from the blazing sun, water bottles and Israeli flags, the marchers marched along a stretch of highway, stopping at noon and at night.
Other protests are also taking place in several Israeli cities, such as Beersheba, or Kfar Saba and Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, according to organizers.
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"Democracy or revolution!" chanted protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday, while tens of thousands more chanted pro-democracy slogans for the 29th straight evening of mobilization.
According to the government, the reform aims, among other things, to rebalance powers, by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, which the executive considers politicized, to the benefit of Parliament. But critics say it risks paving the way for an anti-liberal or authoritarian drift.
💥Entering Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/mjNg6YuEr0
— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي💙 (@NTarnopolsky) July 22, 2023
Starting Sunday noon in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, debates will be held on a reform measure aimed at canceling the possibility for the Israeli judiciary to rule on the "reasonableness" of the government's decisions. This clause will then be voted on at 2nd and 3rd reading. And if passed, it will be the first major component of the proposed judicial reform to become law.
Other measures provoke the discontent of the demonstrators, such as the one modifying the process of appointing judges, already adopted by the deputies at first reading. Critics of the Prime Minister, on trial for corruption, accuse him of wanting to use this reform to mitigate a possible verdict pronounced against him.
Reservist Threats
At least 1,142 Israeli Air Force reservists threatened Saturday with suspending their voluntary service if the Knesset passes the bill. Any legislation applied in an "unreasonable" manner would "compromise my will to continue risking my life and force me, with great sadness, to suspend my voluntary reserve service," they said in a statement, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensifies.
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On Thursday evening, July 20, Netanyahu said he remained "open" to negotiations with the opposition, while the project also arouses criticism abroad, especially in the United States, close allies of Israel. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (July 20th) urged the Israeli government not to "rush" its reforms and to proceed with caution, in an unusually direct criticism of Israel's domestic politics.