JERUSALEM (VINnews) — For the seventh week running, tens of thousands of people are protesting in Tel Aviv and other locations against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms.
Reports claimed that thousands of people had gathered in Haifa, Netanya, Kfar Saba and Beersheva to protest against the reforms. National Unity leader Benny Gantz joined protesters in Kfar Saba and opposition leader Yair Lapid demonstrated in Netanya.
Protesters in Tel Aviv carried a massive copy of Israel’s Declaration of Independence as they marched against the reforms. [It should be noted that the declaration of independence mentions 11 times that the state of Israel will be a Jewish state but does not state once that it will be a democratic state.]
Another protester dressed up as prime minister Netanyahu in handcuffs, a reference to his numerous legal issues.
In Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, dozens of women are seen dressed up as handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s book “The Handmaid’s Tale” about a fictional future society that oppresses women and forces them to be handmaids of males. The women fear that the judicial reforms could roll back feminist rights in Israel with the courts unable to protect those rights effectively.
Women dressing as “Handmaids” (from Handmaid’s Tale”) at mass demonstration in Israel against the government’s judicial overhaul – clear message to the ultra-orthodox parties in the government https://t.co/79buKtLXbz
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) February 18, 2023
At the same time, hundreds of right-wingers are protesting in Jerusalem, calling for dialogue on the government’s plans. Protesters held signs reading, “Right-wing in favor of negotiations.”
Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen spoke at the rally, stating that “the reform will change the face of the country.”
“It is not to improve the legal system, but to neutralize it,” Cohen, a religious Jew and right-winger, added.
“The court and legal advisors are our safety belt. Sometimes it is uncomfortable, sometimes it presses, but it saves lives.
“The division created among the nation amid the discourse on the reform keeps me awake at night. Passing the reform in its current form, by force and without dialogue with all sections of society, will lead to disaster,” Cohen warns.
In a podcast with US ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides, the ambassador said that the Biden administration has advised Netanyahu to “pump the brakes” regarding the judicial reforms, according to US ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides on Saturday, Hebrew media reported.
“That’s what we’re doing now. We’re telling the prime minister, as I tell my kids. Pump the brakes. Slow down, try to get a consensus, and bring the parties together.”
Nides made these statements on The Axe Files podcast in a conversation with former senior Obama advisor David Axelrod, also saying that “it’s very complicated, they’re trying to do things way too fast,” although he admitted that the US cannot tell Israel how to pick its supreme court.
As reported by VINnews