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Israelis have taken to the streets of several cities for the 10th week in a row to demonstrate against government plans to cut the powers of the Supreme Court, something critics see as a threat to judicial independence.
As every Saturday for more than two months, the streets of Israel were filled with protesters who reject the judicial reform of the pPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to the cry of “democracy, democracy” and “no to dictatorship”.
Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition allies propose granting more power to the Executive to the detriment of Justice, whose independence would be profoundly weakened, according to experts.
The prime minister says his goal is to balance the powers of the state, even though he already holds a parliamentary majority along with his religious nationalist coalition allies.
“It is not a judicial reform. It is a revolution that (is) turning Israel into a total dictatorship and I want Israel to remain a democracy for my children,” said Tamir Guytsabri, 58, among the tens of thousands of protesters who gathered in downtown Tel Aviv.
The protests were mostly peaceful, although the Reuters news agency reported seeing people injured and arrests among the demonstrators, when the police acted against attempts to block the streets.
Inspector General Yaacov Shabtai, the head of the national police, made a rare televised announcement backing down on his plans to reassign the Tel Aviv police chief, which some feared could be a preamble to further crackdowns. the protests.
The reassignment, now postponed, was part of a scheduled rotation, according to Shabtai, who added that the police would continue to safeguard demonstrations that remain legal and “will not yield to any political pressure in this regard.”
“We are protesting because if we don’t, it’s like complying and we will never accept the suppression of democracy in this country,” said protester Einat Gival-Levi. “It’s very important that we make everyone aware,” he added.
Hundreds of Israeli women’s rights activists, dressed as characters from the TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale”, marched into Tel Aviv’s city center to join the protest.
The commotion caused by the legal changes planned by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu makes Israel live through one of its worst internal crises. Beyond the protests, which have brought tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets and recently turned violent, opposition has emerged from across society, with business leaders and legal scholars speaking out against what they say will be the adverse effects of the reform.
This week Netanyahu had to be flown by helicopter to the country’s main international airport for a trip abroad, after a crowd of vehicles and protesters prevented him from arriving.
The crisis hit the Israeli Army, which is experiencing unprecedented opposition.
Critics say Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, could find a way out of the charges through reform, something the prime minister denies, saying the legal changes have nothing to do with his trial.
The protests have been largely dominated by the country’s secular middle class. Israel’s Palestinian minority, 20% of the population, has been virtually absent, partly because it suffers discrimination and because of Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza.
What are the changes that would affect the Israeli judicial system?
Critics of the Supreme Court, including many members of the ruling coalition, say the court is left-leaning and elitist and has been too politically involved, often putting minority rights before national interests.
The government seeks to push through changes that would limit the powers of the Supreme Court to rule against the Legislature and the Executive, while giving coalition lawmakers more power in appointing judges.
The judge selection panel requires politicians and the judges on the panel to agree on appointments. The current proposals would change that, giving the government decisive influence.
Netanyahu is formally barred from participating in the initiative because he is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies, but insists the changes will strengthen Israel’s democracy and boost business. The prime minister accuses the media and the opposition of misrepresenting the plan and encouraging protests to overthrow his government.
Some of the changes proposed by the coalition have already been approved in the plenary session of the Knesset, in the first of the three readings necessary for their ratification, but it is not clear if they will be definitively voted on before April 2, the date on which the legislators meet. They retire for spring break.
With Reuters and AP
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