OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Monday against the government´s judicial reform bill which they say threatens democracy, as lawmakers ready for a key vote on the controversial overhaul.
Demonstrators from across Israel descended on al-Quds to rally near parliament ahead of the first reading of legislation to change the way judges are picked. “I´m really worried,” said paediatrician Adi Aran, protesting with a stethoscope around her neck.
The proposed reform, which would give elected representatives more control of the judicial system, might stop Israel from being “a state my children can live in”, added Aran, from the Har Adar settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Police officers guarded barriers in Jerusalem to prevent protesters, many of them waving Israeli flags, from reaching parliament. Israel´s Channel 12 estimated the crowd at 30,000, while an organiser told journalists he hoped the crowd would swell later on in the day.
A protest convoy of dozens of cars drove along the highway to al-Quds, while in northern Tel Aviv an AFP correspondent saw some 4,000 parents, students and teachers rallying. The sweeping judicial reform programme is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s administration, an alliance with ultra-Orthodox and extreme-right parties which took office in late December.
The premier presents the overhaul as key to restoring balance between the branches of government, as he believes judges have too much power over elected officials. Netanyahu accused protest leaders of “trampling on democracy” and failing to “accept the election result”.
He has expressed a willingness to talk to the opposition but vowed to press on with the legislation without delay. “The people´s representatives will exercise their right to vote here in the Israeli parliament,” the premier said on Monday.
Lawmakers are set to hold their first vote later Monday on measures to change the composition of the committee to select judges. A bill to prevent judges from ruling against the so-called Basic Laws, Israel´s quasi-constitution, is also on the parliamentary agenda.
Critics accuse the government of a power grab, and weekly protests in Tel Aviv against the legislation since early January have drawn tens of thousands. Opposition chief Yair Lapid said the situation amounted to “the worst internal crisis the state of Israel has ever known”.
“We will not give up,” he said in parliament. In al-Quds, protester Kovi Skier took aim at the government´s plan to allow parliament to overrule any Supreme Court decision with a simple majority.
“If there´s no judicial review, the government can make whatever policies it wants without any limitations,” said the 33-year-old from the central city of Givat Shmuel.
“It could make policies against women, policies against Arabs, policies against the religious, it doesn´t make a difference who. Everyone will be affected,” he added, carrying his daughter who was clutching an Israeli flag. Police said officers arrested eight demonstrators in the Tel Aviv area for breaching public order and disobeying instructions.