Israel: Over 80,000 Israelis have protested in Tel Aviv against the new right-wing coalition government’s plans to restructure the judiciary. The reforms would make it easier for parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings, among other things.
The protest is the biggest since Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government took power in late December 2022 in Israel, a country of just over nine million. “The situation is worrying and scary,” stated 22-year-old protester Ms. Aya Tal, who works in the high-tech industry.
Other rallies were held in Jerusalem, outside the prime minister’s and the president’s residences, and in the northern city of Haifa, as per the report. Mr. Netanyahu, who had been Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, took back power at the head of a coalition formed of extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, some of whose leaders now hold key ministry positions.
Demonstrators demanded that Mr. Netanyahu, defending himself against corruption charges in court, resign. The first Israeli prime minister to be charged while in office was Mr. Netanyahu. The accusations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust are all denied by him. Following anti-corruption demonstrations that demanded Mr. Netanyahu’s resignation, a ragtag coalition of parties elected in 2021 toppled the leader of the right-wing party Likud after a record 12-year tenure.
An unparalleled era of political deadlock that necessitated five elections in less than four years and widened social gaps was put an end to by his return to power. The leader of centre-left opposition party Labor, Ms. Merav Michaeli, was among several politicians at the Tel Aviv rally, as former foreign minister Ms. Tzipi Livni.
