Israeli Government’s Judicial Reforms To Get Backing of Mass Rally in Jerusalem
Supporters of Israel’s governing coalition and the country’s far-reaching judicial overhaul program are to hold a mass demonstration Thursday night in favor of the controversial reforms in Jerusalem. Senior members of the cabinet, including Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz, are expected to attend the rally. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not expected to participate.
Religious and settler activist groups, including an organization established by a religious Likud parliamentarian and a settlement activist and Chabad Hasid, are leading the campaign. But a popular newspaper affiliated with the non-Hasidic Degel Hatorah faction in the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, which supports the reforms, has called on readers not to attend the mass rally.
Supporters are pitching the demonstration as pushback against the growing opposition, which has seen protests, labor strikes, and civil unrest.
Although branded the “March of the Million,” organizers are hoping for the participation of a quarter million to half a million demonstrators.
If implemented in full, the legislation would give governing coalitions almost complete control over judicial appointments in Israel, and drastically reduce the High Court of Justice’s ability to strike down legislation. The reform has been criticized for stripping away almost all checks and balances from Israel’s system of government, eroding and potentially eliminating its democratic character and leaving minorities unprotected.
