A day-long protest march against the controversial judicial reform in Israel with tens of thousands of people arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday, according to organizers. Several hundred demonstrators had started the approximately 70-kilometer hike from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Tuesday evening.
In the past few days, the kilometer-long protest march has grown in size. According to estimates by the Israeli broadcaster Channel 13, more than 70,000 people took part on Saturday. Your plan is therefore to spend Sunday night in front of Parliament. Rallies with thousands of people were also planned in other cities in Israel in the evening.
On Sunday morning, Israel’s right-wing religious government intends to present a core element of its plans to weaken the judiciary to parliamentarians. However, the final passage of the controversial law is not expected before Monday afternoon.
Resistance in the military is increasing
For more than six months, the project has divided large sections of Israeli society. Thousands regularly take to the streets. Recently, resistance within the military has also increased.
According to media reports in Herzliya, more than 10,000 reservists would no longer be on duty if the government’s controversial judicial restructuring were not stopped. According to the reports, this could significantly affect the operational readiness of the military. The military initially declined to comment.
On Friday, more than 1,000 Air Force reservists had already threatened to refuse service. Defense Minister Joav Galant then announced that he was trying to reach a “consensus”. According to media reports, he should try to postpone the planned vote.
More than 100 senior ex-security chiefs in the country also sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing their support for the possible draft evaders and calling on him to stop the legislation. Netanyahu is “personally responsible for the serious damage inflicted on Israel’s military and security,” the letter said.
Critics see a danger to democracy
Negotiations on a compromise have so far been unsuccessful. According to media reports, efforts should continue in the background. The law is part of a larger package that critics see as a threat to Israel’s democracy.
The country’s highest court should no longer be able to judge a decision by the government or individual ministers as “inappropriate”. Critics fear that this will encourage corruption and thus the arbitrary filling of important posts and layoffs. The Netanyahu government, on the other hand, accuses the judiciary of interfering too much in political decisions.
