The anger does not weaken in Israel against the reform of justice. Several thousand demonstrators gathered again on Wednesday August 2 in Tel Aviv to protest against the vote by Parliament of part of this project dear to the right-wing government. “You have ruined the country, and we will fix it”, “Democracy, democracy” shouted the demonstrators in this city which since January has become the center of the protest movement. Led by the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes far-right parties and ultra-Orthodox Jews, the reform, which deeply divides the country, has triggered the largest protest movement in its history.
Despite the protests, the Prime Minister and his coalition got parliament to approve on July 24 an important clause that limits the ability of the Supreme Court to overturn a government decision if it does not appear “reasonable”. The reform aims to increase the power of elected officials in relation to that of magistrates. The government believes it is necessary to ensure a better balance of power, but its critics see it as a threat to democracy, and fear that it opens the way to an authoritarian drift.
Concern of allied countries
“I am against the government, it only puts power in the hands of one authority,” Roei Ben Haim, a 40-year-old protester, said on Wednesday. “There is no democracy without the Supreme Court,” protesters shouted. The rallies drew Israelis from all political and social backgrounds, secular or religious, peace activists, blue-collar or tech workers, but also army reservists.
The plan has also raised concern from foreign countries allied with Israel, including the United States, where Democratic President Joe Biden has called on the country’s leaders not to rush to impose reform that is “more more divisive.”