Hundreds of Thousands Continue To Protest Israel’s Judicial Overhaul Despite Pause in Legislative Process
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered across Israel on Saturday night to protest the government’s proposed judicial reform plans, calling for their complete cancellation. More than 150 locations saw protests, with the main gathering in Tel Aviv attracting an estimated 175,000 people. Smaller groups launched counterprotests to express support for the government’s plan. The Umbrella Movement of Resistance Against Dictatorship in Israel reported that by 10 pm, around 450,000 individuals had attended protests in different parts of the country.
Residents of Beit Shemesh and the surrounding Mateh Yehuda region in central Israel chant “Don’t be afraid, you must resist,” in protest against the government’s judicial overhaul plan, April 1, 2023. (Steven Ganot/The Media Line)
Organizers called for an emergency meeting with the police commissioner over the use of violence against demonstrators. The police for the first time used nonlethal crowd-control devices, called “tza’akot,” which emit noise at a painful frequency and can cause hearing damage. The Tel Aviv protests resulted in 19 arrests, including three 19-year-olds carrying assault weapons and pepper spray.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is mediating negotiations between the coalition and opposition to reach an agreement on the Judicial Selection Committee. However, coalition officials expressed pessimism about reaching an agreement, while opposition leaders were skeptical of the negotiations and promised to continue protesting.
The proposed legislation aims to curb what the ruling coalition calls a too-powerful Supreme Court. The court’s ability to intervene in issues that the government says should be determined exclusively by the legislature is a major point of contention. Opponents of the reforms believe they will weaken the courts, eliminating the few checks and balances on the government and giving it dictatorial powers.
The protests come after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced a pause in the legislation aimed at judicial reform, following weeks of widespread protests and a brief nationwide strike. While negotiations are ongoing, protesters are determined to keep up the pressure on the government and ensure the reform plans are scrapped altogether. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tweeted from the protests, warning that “the danger has not yet passed.”
