Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday September 9 in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities against a controversial justice reform project, a few days before a deadline considered crucial for the continuation of the process, journalists from the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The announcement of the government project at the beginning of January gave rise to one of the largest protest movements that the country has known since its creation in 1948. The camp of opponents of the reform demonstrates every Saturday evening, mainly in Tel- Aviv, but also in many cities across the country.
The demonstration took place a few days before a hearing at the Supreme Court to examine appeals filed against one of the key points of the reform, adopted by Parliament in July and aimed precisely at limiting the powers of the Supreme Court that the right and Jewish religious parties consider it politicized.
Guardrails
“The Supreme Court is supreme”, could we read on a banner during the rally. Benjamin Netanyahu “was taken hostage by the messianic settlers who are trying to make the revolution”a demonstrator, Josh Drill, told AFP, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister, at the head of one of the most right-wing governments in Israeli history.
Several thousand Israelis demonstrated Thursday evening in Jerusalem in support of the reform project. According to the government, the reform aims, among other things, to rebalance powers, by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court for the benefit of Parliament.
Opponents of the reform fear for their part that the proposed changes, by removing safeguards to the action of the legislative and executive powers, will tip Israeli democracy towards an illiberal system. They accuse Mr. Netanyahu, on trial for several corruption cases, of conflict of interest and of wanting this reform to get out of his legal troubles.