Thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv against the new Israeli government

The demonstration, in which people carried slogans describing Netanyahu’s government as “dangerous, corrupt and racist”, was also attended by some members of parliament, such as the head of the Labor Party, Merav Michaeliová. Among other things, she wrote on Twitter that people will fight for “democracy in their country”.

“We will not allow you to turn our country into a dictatorship,” Bar Association president Avi Himi told Justice Minister Jariv Levin. He was reacting to the Supreme Court reform proposal that Levin presented this week. According to the proposal, the parliament should, among other things, acquire the power to reverse the decision of the Supreme Court by a simple majority. Levin also suggests that politicians play a greater role in appointing Supreme Court justices.

The proposed judicial reform has been criticized by the opposition, who say it threatens the independent judiciary. The new parliament, in which the governing coalition has a majority, already passed a law in December that allowed the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Arje Derim, to become a minister, even though he was found guilty of tax evasion last January . Netanyahu is also accused of corruption; he denies the allegations and called the allegation a “witch hunt”.

Organizers of Saturday’s demonstration criticize the government for having “extremist” politicians who will enforce laws that discriminate against national or sexual minorities. “Tonight, my friends, we have created a new democratic camp that includes Jews and Arabs, women and men, heterosexual and the LGBTQ+ community, religious and secular. We are all united against bad governance and in the fight for a better future,” one of the speakers at the rally said on Saturday.

According to the organizers of the event, there will be further demonstrations against the government and for the protection of Israeli democracy, including next Saturday, reports the server of the Haaretz newspaper.