Israelis throng train stations, block roads to protest judicial reforms

TEL AVIV: Thousands of Israeli protesters crowded railway stations and blocked roads on Tuesday in the run-up to a parliament vote on the government´s judicial reform agenda opponents say would “dismantle democracy”.

The proposals have divided the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel´s history since being unveiled in January by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Weekly rallies have drawn tens of thousands of protesters aiming to prevent what they believe could pave the way to more authoritarian government.

Crowds gathered early on Tuesday in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel´s commercial hub, after organisers had called for a “national day of resistance” ahead of a planned vote by lawmakers on a key clause later this month. Demonstrators holding Israeli flags and chanting “democracy, democracy” marched on highways and bridges, and blocked several roads as well as an entrance to the military´s headquarters in Tel Aviv, AFP correspondents reported.

Many, wearing hats to protect from scorching heat, chanted slogans on loudspeakers and beat drums. Opponents of the government´s reforms also entered the stock exchange building in the city and staged a rally there.

Later on Tuesday protesters gathered at several railway stations in Tel Aviv and other cities including Haifa, Herzliya, Beersheba, and Binyamina, chanting “Israel is not a dictatorship”. Hundreds managed to overcome police deployed to stop protesters from taking to railway platforms.

Protester Inbal Oraz said the timing of the protest was “critical” before parliament breaks for summer recess on July 30. “This month is critical and this week is critical, because in less than a week we will know if this first law of this package is going to pass,” the tech consultant told AFP.

“We are doing our best to fight and stop it.” Protester Ron Sherf, 51, vowed to continue challenging the government. “The government wants unlimited power to implement a policy that is not liberal, a policy of Jewish supremacy and a religious state,” he said.

“We are not ready for that as liberals.” Police said they had arrested at least 19 protesters for violating public order. The government temporarily paused the divisive legal overhaul in March in the wake of a general strike.

But in recent weeks it launched a new political offensive to pass the package in parliament. Meanwhile, Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Tuesday discussed tensions over a controversial judicial shake-up inside Israel that the US president has branded the work of an “extremist” government.

Biden hosted Herzog in the Oval Office at the White House, telling him, “You know my love for Israel is deep-rooted and long-lasting.” But the warm greeting did not mask a split over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s divisive push to reform the court system and expand Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.