Israel: Massive demonstrations in support of Netanyahu’s judicial reform
Arnt Jensvoll 28/04/2023 19:36
Hundreds of thousands gathered in Jerusalem to show their support for Netanyahu on Thursday. Screenshot from Twitter
Israel is tired of the left-wing opposition’s month-long demonstrations against Netanyahu’s judicial reform, which they portray as a fight for democracy.
We want a Jewish state
Massive crowds gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday night chanting “We demand judicial reform,” “We want a Jewish state,” and “64 seats” — a reference to the November 2022 elections won by the right.
A significant number of non-religious protesters carried placards with messages such as: “I am secular. I demand reform of the judiciary.”
The parliamentary election the actual referendum
We are told that if the reform goes through, there will be a dictatorship. Nothing could be further from the truth than that, Yariv Levin, the justice minister and one of the chief architects behind the reform, told the estimated 600,000 people who gathered in support of the legislation.
Over two million Israelis voted in the election six months ago for legal reform in what was the real referendum. We received 64 mandates with the task of correcting an injustice. No more inequality, no one-sided legal system, no judges above the elected Knesset and the government.
Necessary support for Netanyahu
With the “Million March” near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday night, the opposition’s claims that Israelis are united against the judicial reforms gave much-needed support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s beleaguered government.
Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who came to Jerusalem to support our government. Your passion and patriotism touch me deeply, Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
I thank the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who came to Jerusalem tonight to support our government. Your passion and patriotism moves me deeply. pic.twitter.com/F0aC0ETAFd
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 27, 2023
Netanyahu’s judicial reform
- The Israeli legal reform will clip the wings of the courts’ ability to overrule the government.
- The Supreme Court’s power to revise or reject laws will be weakened as a simple majority in the Knesset will be able to override court decisions.
- The government will have a decisive influence on who becomes judges by increasing its representation in the committee that appoints them.
One reform has already been passed into law – the attorney general’s power to declare a sitting prime minister unfit to be removed.
The left is fighting again for democracy
Netanyahu’s opponents claim to be fighting for democracy, which they believe will be undermined by the reform.
Evil tongues claim that the reform is the unifying symbolic issue the left needs in its fight against undesirable outcomes of democratic elections.
Ultra-Orthodox newspaper calls for boycott of pro-judicial reform protest https://t.co/VN9B09FdcE pic.twitter.com/CTkMVGJiR8
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) April 27, 2023