Half a million Israelis joins latest protest against Netanyahu

• 500,000 Israelis protested against proposals by Benjamin Netanyahu.
• To reform the nation’s court system.
• With 240,000 in Tel Aviv and 100,000 in Jerusalem.

500,000 Israelis demonstrated against proposals by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to reform the nation’s court system for the ninth week in a row, according to organizers.

Just over 9 million people live in Israel, therefore if organizers’ calculations are accurate, just approximately 5% of Israelis participated in the protest.

Some 240,000 demonstrators, or around to half of the total, assembled in Tel Aviv, according to the organizers.

About hundred protesters gathered in Jerusalem in front of President Isaac Herzog’s home. Israel will not be a dictatorship was one of the chants they sang while carrying Israeli flags.

Herzog, a largely ceremonial figure, encouraged the Netanyahu administration to drop the legislation for a judicial reform on Thursday.

The judiciary’s ability to monitor the power of the other branches of government in the nation is said to be weakened by protesters and opponents of Netanyahu’s proposal.

The legislation package would grant Israel’s Parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority.

Additionally, it would grant the government the authority to name judges, a power currently held by a committee made up of judges, legal professionals, and politicians.

Legal advisors to government ministries would lose their authority and independence, and courts would no longer have the authority to void “unreasonable” government appointments, as the High Court did in January.

Prompting Aryeh Deri, the interior and health minister, to be fired by Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is accused by critics of promoting the law to avoid the ongoing corruption investigations he is currently subjected to.

Netanyahu disputes that claim, claiming that the trials are already coming to an end on their own and that the modifications are required due to judicial overreach by unelected judges.

Israel has a set of laws known as the Basic Laws rather than a written constitution.

“We are done being polite,” said Shikma Bressler, an Israeli protest leader. “If the laws being suggested will pass, Israel will no longer be a democracy.”

According to a survey conducted last month for the Israel Democracy Institute, roughly two out of three Israelis (66%) believe the Supreme Court should have the authority to overturn laws that are inconsistent with Israel’s Basic Laws, and roughly the same proportion (63%) say they support the current system of appointing judges.

“The only thing this government cares about is crushing Israeli democracy,” opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said.

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