Israelis again took to the streets on Saturday to protest the government’s proposed judicial reform, despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a few days earlier backing away from a key provision of the plan.
In Tel Aviv, the demonstrators, who brandished banners on which one could read “Save Democracy” gathered like every week for several months.
Although no figures on participation were immediately communicated, the demonstrations regularly bring together tens of thousands of people.
Formed at the end of December with the support of far-right parties and ultra-Orthodox Jewish formations, the government of Mr. Netanyahu is trying to pass his reform which proposes to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. The announcement of the project in January sparked one of the biggest protest movements in Israel’s history.
Negotiations suspended
The government believes the reform is necessary to ensure a better balance of power, but critics see it as a threat to democracy and its institutional safeguards.
In an interview given to wall street journal aired on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said he dropped the so-called clause “derogatory”, which was to allow Parliament to overrule a Supreme Court decision by a simple majority. This highly criticized clause was adopted at first reading by Parliament in March. Another provision also adopted in first reading and which modifies the process of appointment of judges, is the subject of fierce disputes.
Benyamin Netanyahu, who announced a pause in the project at the end of March to allow discussions with the opposition, promised on June 18 to relaunch it. A few days earlier, the two main opposition leaders, Yaïr Lapid and Benny Gantz, had suspended their participation in the negotiations on the reform.