For the tenth consecutive Saturday night, protesters against the government’s overhaul of the Israeli justice system were numerous in the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities. Of the rally in Tel Aviv, protest organizers said: “Expert estimates from television, cross-referencing of drone and still-camera footage, and interviews with police indicate that 240,000 people took part in the demonstration, a record number since the start of the campaign.” About 50,000 people demonstrated in Haifa, which is also considered a record number.
After protests by IDF reservists last week against government plans for the justice system, and the vitriolic condemnations those protests drew from coalition members, many of the speeches last night focused on the role of the military in the state. Speaking at the demonstration in Beersheva, which was reportedly attended by around 10,000 people, opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “A government that has two parties whose sole raison d’etre is the refusal of military service and insubordination, which he not preach to us. Israel is in the greatest crisis in its history. A wave of terrorist attacks is hitting us. Money flees the country. Here in the south, personal safety is plummeting to new lows every month. Yesterday the Iranians signed a deal with Saudi Arabia that will inject billions of dollars into their nuclear program. The only thing the government cares about is continuing to shred Israeli democracy and the unity of the people of Israel.
“If tomorrow morning the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meets and pursues this crazy legislation, it will be a spit in the face of the president, in the face of every citizen who believes in the unity of the people of Israel.”
Lapid was referring to President Isaac Herzog’s late Thursday call for judicial review legislation to be dropped and talks held on a compromise proposal he intended to introduce.
Among the speakers at the main event in Tel Aviv were former Israeli Air Force commander Amir Eshel, former Israeli police chief Moshe Karadi, former judge and ombudsman for the prosecutor’s office in state Hila Gerstel, Liron Damri, co-founder of Israel startup Forter, and Ora Peled Nakash, the first female officer in the Israeli Navy.
Another “Resistance Day” is scheduled for Thursday. Last Thursday, protesters blocked roads around Israel and tried to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from reaching Ben Gurion Airport for a flight to Italy on an official visit. Netanyahu was forced to fly to the airport by helicopter.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – March 12, 2023.
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