2023-07-19 16:24:35
In Israel, around 250 demonstrators began a multi-day protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Wednesday to demonstrate against the controversial judicial reform of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government. “We will reach Jerusalem on Saturday evening and set up tents at the Knesset,” said activist Moshe Radman about the 70-kilometer protest march announced at short notice.
“We plan to be there on Sunday morning,” Radman said — that’s when the Israeli parliament will vote on an important clause of the reform in second and third readings.
The reform aims to reduce the powers of the judiciary and the Supreme Court and strengthen the position of Parliament and the Prime Minister. The demonstrators accuse the government of wanting to weaken the country’s independent judiciary. On Tuesday, opponents of the judicial reform called for a nationwide “Day of Resistance” against the plans and blocked highways and train stations in Tel Aviv, among other things.
Last week, the Israeli parliament approved one of the most controversial elements of the reform, the so-called adequacy clause, at first reading. This is intended to remove the possibility for the Supreme Court to classify government decisions as “inappropriate” in the future. Critics fear that high-ranking government posts will be filled arbitrarily and that corruption will be fostered.
The judicial reform is opposed by large sections of the Israeli population, including members of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party. Your opponents see this as a serious threat to democracy in Israel. Tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating against the project since the beginning of the year.
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