Thousands of Israelis joined demonstrations on Saturday against judicial reform plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, which protesters say would threaten the democratic checks and balances on ministers by the courts.
The plans, which the government says are needed to curb encroachment by activist judges, have drawn fierce opposition from groups including lawyers, and raised concerns among business leaders, who are already deeply entrenched in Israeli society. exacerbating political division.
Netanyahu has dismissed the protests, now in their third week, as a refusal by left-wing opponents to accept the results of last November’s election, which produced one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history.
Protesters say the future of Israel’s democracy is at stake if the plans, which would tighten government control over judicial appointments and limit the Supreme Court’s powers to review government decisions, go through.
