NEW YORK — Several hundred Israelis and American Jews demonstrated in New York on Sunday against the Israeli government’s plan to overhaul the judicial system. Around the same time, hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square in London for the same purpose.
The rally in Washington Square Park appeared to be the largest in New York since the government announced plans to overhaul the judiciary more than two months ago.
The demonstrators held up Israeli flags and signs reading “No democracy, no future”, “Hands off Israeli democracy” and “Minister of crime”.
Speakers urged the crowd to take action against the government by participating in protests, and contacting MPs, among others.
They also expressed their solidarity with the mass protests taking place in Israel.
“It’s not a question of right or left, but of democracy versus autocracy,” said Jeremy Levin, former CEO of Teva. “We are witnessing the struggle of a democracy for its survival. »
Several members of a delegation representing IDF veterans opposed to the government were also present. The group said it would continue on its way from New York to Washington to speak with several members of the US Congress about the reform of the judicial system.
“Our beloved Israel is under attack. This is not a physical attack, but a constitutional coup, an attempt to overthrow our democracy, our values and our way of life,” Ofir Bear told the crowd. , veteran F-16 pilot.
“They want to deprive us of our freedom and make Israel an unrecognizable country, a country where racism is legal, where women are oppressed, where government ministers ask us to wipe out Palestinian villages,” Bear said. “This is not the Israeli way. They destroy our moral sense, undermine the values that gave us the certainty that when we fight, we fight for the good. »
In London, protesters held signs in Hebrew and English that read “A government of criminals will not appoint judges” and “Israelis for the future of Israel,” and chanted “Democracy.”
Hundreds of people rally against the Israeli government’s controversial plan to reform the judiciary, in London, March 12, 2023. (Twitter; Used pursuant to Section 27a of the Copyright Act)
Margaret Hodge, a Jewish Labor MP from the UK, told the rally that supporters of Israel could only credibly defend the country by citing it as “the only real democratic jurisdiction in the region”.
“No credible democracy in the world would undermine the independence of justice,” she recalled.
The group Defend Israel Democracy, made up of Israelis living abroad, organized the rallies and held demonstrations in other capitals around the world.
The protests came a day after more than 300,000 Israelis gathered across the country on Saturday night, part of the tenth consecutive week of protests against government efforts to radically overhaul the justice system.
Hundreds of Israelis and members of the local Jewish community also demonstrated against the reforms in Rome over the weekend, during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The protests came as the coalition prepares to kick into high gear from Sunday with its widely controversial overhaul of the justice system, so far rejecting calls, including from the president, to scrap current legislation and to patiently negotiate a compromise.
Organizers said they would step up their response if the government did not shelve the overhaul law, with a “day of escalation of resistance” scheduled for Thursday.
If passed, the law will give the government full control over judicial appointments and prohibit the High Court of Justice from reviewing the Basic Laws. This is a central part of the coalition’s broad initiative to limit the judiciary and centralize almost all power in the hands of the ruling majority.
Luke Tress contributed to this article.
