Opponents of judicial overhaul launch ‘Day of Disruption’ across Israel
Protesters in Israel today launched another “Day of Disruption” over the judicial reform effort of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Israelis in Tel Aviv protest against the government’s judicial overhaul initiative on July 18, 2023. Photo by Yossi Zeliger/TPS
By 7 a.m. local time, thousands of protesters had already blocked major roads, including the main coastal highway that connects Tel Aviv and Haifa. Both sides of Highway 2 were blocked at Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in the north, causing long traffic jams in either direction.
Police dispersed the protesters and reopened Highway 2. Two suspects were arrested for disrupting public order.
The protesters waved Israeli flags as they blocked traffic. One massive poster hung from an overpass read “Netanyahu is Taking Apart the Nation.”
Highway 6 was also blocked briefly before police reopened it to traffic.
Organisers are planning mass demonstrations for Tuesday in the run-up to the second reading in the Knesset plenum this week of a bill seeking to annul the court’s “reasonableness” criteria for overturning legislation and governmental decisions.
While protesters have blocked major highways and interchanges for months and disrupted traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport several times, today they will also try to close down train stations, according to protest organisers.
In Tel Aviv, hundreds gathered at Habima Square and police announced the closures to traffic of Kaplan Street and Menachem Begin Road due to the protests. The Brothers in Arms group of reservists protested on Kaplan Street, chanting “[Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant is destroying the People’s Army!” in Hebrew and linking themselves together with plastic tubes on their arms in front of an entrance to Israeli military headquarters.
Protesters also blocked an entrance to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
In front of World Likud chair, Knesset member Danny Danon’s home in Ra’anana, a group of protesters held morning prayers.
The harassment of coalition lawmakers has been a running story throughout the months-long protests, and on Monday, it was reported that a woman, identified as Efrat Marmour, will be charged with attacking a public official after video showed her hitting Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter in the head with a flagpole at a protest in March.
The governing coalition’s judicial reforms are deeply controversial. Legislation advancing through the Knesset would primarily alter the way judges are appointed and removed, give the Knesset the ability to override certain High Court rulings, restrict the ability of judges to apply standards of “reasonableness,” and change the way legal advisors are appointed to government ministries.
Supporters of the legal overhaul say they want to end years of judicial overreach, while opponents describe the proposals as anti-democratic.
TPS
