Israeli police said they arrested 45 people, including eight at train stations in Tel Aviv, in another day of mass protests against the government’s controversial judicial reforms pending in Parliament.
Israeli demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed through his controversial plan, as lawmakers prepare to pass one of the contested reform bills before parliament begins its summer recess.
During the demonstration – the latest in a month-long wave of protests that rocked Israel’s capital, Tel Aviv – thousands of people waving Israeli flags blocked highways and posed briefly at the stock market on a “Day of Troubles” in hopes of overturning legislation scheduled for a final vote next week.
About a thousand people, many of them reservists, surrounded the army headquarters in the city. Similar scenes of siege and protest took place in cities across the country. Police used water cannons in Tel Aviv and northern Israel to disperse demonstrators.
The country’s national railways have been closed for some time, although it is unclear if protests were behind the railway closures. Israel Railways said there was a computer malfunction.
The reform drive – which opponents have described as limiting the independence of the court and Netanyahu as two balanced branches of government – led to a six-month constitutional crisis and contributed to US concerns about Netanyahu’s far-right coalition.
Specifically, the bill – which passed on first reading – would reduce the “reasonableness” clause under which the judiciary can overrule government decisions.
It would also give the government more influence in appointing judges. But before it becomes law, it must be approved in two more votes, expected by the end of the month.
No to dictatorship
“We are here to say to the Israeli government: the more you push, the more we resist,” Jonathan Eran Kali, a 62-year-old retired technician, told Reuters news agency during a protest outside the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv. . . .
“We say no to dictatorship,” added Cale, who was carrying a hydration pack as a precaution against the hot weather.
Dozens of demonstrators entered the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, throwing counterfeit banknotes as symbols of corruption. Police reported half a dozen highways were blocked by protesters and at least 17 people were arrested.
Doctors said a woman was hit by a car and injured.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the government was moving forward with reforms “with measured steps while continuing to call for broad consensus.” The protesters were seen as “a boisterous, media-hyped few”.
In a filibuster, the parliamentary opposition has lodged 27,000 objections to a coalition bill that would limit the Supreme Court’s ability to overturn decisions or appointments made by government, ministers and elected officials by depriving judges of the power to judge such “unreasonable” decisions.
However, the coalition appeared poised to bring the bill to the plenum on Sunday for a vote before the July 30 recess.
As the streets of Israel rage, the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, told US President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday that he was determined to find a middle ground between the stormy atmosphere in his country and US concerns about the planned court reform.
“Israeli democracy is healthy, strong and resilient,” Herzog said as Biden attended the White House. He said the company is going through tough times and tough times. “We should always strive to find a friendly consensus,” Herzog said.
Herzog has been trying for months to find a middle ground between the government and opponents of reform – so far without success.
Although Herzog does not wield the same political power as Netanyahu, the United States has long been Israel’s closest ally and Washington’s support is important to Israel’s leadership.
Biden, before the closed-door talks with Herzog, said he has a long-standing and deep-rooted commitment to Israel.
On the eve of Herzog’s visit, the White House announced that Netanyahu would make his first official visit to Washington during a Biden administration later this year.
US and Israeli commentators said Washington is increasingly concerned about Netanyahu’s policies and rethinking its past relations with the country. Israeli commentators have expressed similar concerns.
“The fact that Netanyahu has not been to the White House since taking office and that Herzog has now received an invitation is a clear sign of that,” said Israeli political expert Eldad Shavit.
The reform caused an unprecedented rift in Israeli society as the protest movement showed few signs of abating.
The Israel National Labor Union and its affiliated doctors’ union have joined a long list of organizations speaking out against the bill.
Reservists, combat pilots and business leaders have urged the government to end the plan.
Arnon Bar-David, leader of the country’s national union, the Histadrut, threatened a possible general strike that could cripple the country’s economy.
