Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 14, 2023

Tens of thousands of Israeli demonstrators have blocked motorways across the country and access to Tel Avivs airport as part of a day of disruption in protest at the governments renewed push to advance legislation overhauling the judiciary.

In the first of three readings on Monday night, Israels parliament in which the governing coalition headed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, holds 64 of 120 seats voted in favour of a bill scrapping the reasonableness standard that allows the supreme court to overrule government decisions.

The protest movement opposing the judicial changes followed through with promises of demonstrations on Monday night and widespread marches on Tuesday, as people gathered to block several motorways from early morning and an estimated 10,00015,000 protesters later marched on Ben Gurion airport.

More demonstrations were planned for Tuesday evening outside the presidents residence in Jerusalem and in several locations in Tel Aviv and other cities. By late afternoon, more than 60 arrests had been made. There were two reported injuries caused by mounted police after protesters breached barriers on a central motorway.

I came here because this government is demolishing, totally, democracy in Israel, Eitan Galon, a doctor protesting on a road outside Jerusalem, told Agence France-Presse. We will fight until the end, he said, as police nearby used water cannon to disperse demonstrators.

Netanyahu returned to office at the end of 2022 at the head of the most rightwing government in Israeli history, which soon announced the wide-ranging judicial legislation aimed at curbing the outsized power of the supreme court and its perceived leftwing bias.

Critics have raised fears of democratic backsliding and say the changes will aid Netanyahus fight against graft charges, which he denies. The issue has given rise to an unprecedented protest movement, damaged Israels economy, and drawn criticism of the government from international allies such as the US.

Mondays vote advanced efforts to get rid of Israels reasonableness standard, which allows the supreme court to overrule government decisions it deems too political, implausible, or that undermine the publics trust in government. It was used in January to remove a key Netanyahu ally, the interior minister Aryeh Deri, from the cabinet because of a previous conviction for tax evasion.

Tuesdays events suggest that the seven-month-old protest movement has not lost momentum since reaching a crescendo in March, when Netanyahu was forced to announce a freeze to the legislation after wildcat strikes shut down much of the country.

It is expected that the protests could grow more violent after last weeks resignation of the Tel Aviv chief of police, Ami Eshed, who was widely believed to be under pressure from the hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to crack down harder on demonstrations.

Israel and Netanyahu appear to be back at Marchs crossroads: compromise talks with opposition parties brokered by the figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, collapsed last month.

It is not the end of democracy, it strengthens democracy, Netanyahu said in a video statement on Monday night as the Knesset debated the bill and protesters sang and chanted outside the parliament building. Even after the amendment, court independence and civil rights in Israel will not be harmed in any way. The court will continue to oversee the legality of government action and appointments.

The bill removing the reasonableness clause now returns to committee for discussion and could be altered before being brought for the next two votes. Proponents of the measures are determined to make them law before the Knessets summer session ends in late July.

Herzog on Monday called on the sides to resume talks in order to resolve the fundamental issues that are tearing us apart. If the protests escalate, Netanyahu may be forced once again to push the legislation until after the summer recess, a decision that would anger his coalition partners.

Go here to see the original:

Protests across Israel after parliament initially approves judicial ...

Category: Israel
Tags: