(Tel Aviv) Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to continue protesting against the government’s judiciary reform, ahead of a crucial week that is expected to see more legislation and further protests. mass.
Demonstrations have followed each week since the presentation in January by the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in the history of Israel, of a reform project which divides the country.
Arousing concern in the country but also abroad, the reform aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. According to its critics, it jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
“We are here today to speak out and add our voices to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Israelis who support the values this country was founded on,” such as ‘democracy’ and ‘tolerance,'” Daniel Nisman, 36, who works in the high-tech sector, told AFP.
Early Saturday evening, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv, according to an AFP journalist.
“More and more Israelis are waking up,” said Josh Drill, a spokesman for one of the so-called “umbrella” protest movements.
“We are not going to live in a dictatorship,” the 26-year-old told AFP.
US President Joe Biden has expressed “concerns” about these judicial reforms, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.
In London on Friday, where he met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, Netanyahu was also greeted by hundreds of protesters.
Sunak stressed during the meeting “the importance of respecting the democratic values that underpin the relationship (between the two countries), including in the judicial reform project in Israel”, according to a spokesman at Downing Street.
Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe this reform project is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
Israeli MPs are expected to vote next week on one of the central elements of the reform, at the heart of the concerns of its detractors, foreseeing the change in the process for appointing judges.
Mr. Netanyahu, who had so far remained in the background on this file, pledged Thursday evening in a speech to “end the division among the people”, while underlining his determination to push forward the reform.
The next day, he was called to order by the courts, which deemed his public intervention “illegal” given his ongoing corruption trials.
The text of the bill was amended in committee to soften its content with a view to achieving a broader vote, but without the support of the opposition, which continues to demand “a pause” in the legislative work on the reform before any negotiation with the majority.
