Hartford Courant

Contentiou­s Israel overhaul starts despite mass protests

- By Josef Federman

JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentiou­s plan to overhaul the country’s legal system.

The boisterous demonstrat­ion outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu’s program. The plan has triggered weeks of mass protests, prompted condemnati­ons from wide swaths of Israeli society and drawn a statement of concern from President Joe Biden.

Netanyahu and his allies say the country’s unelected judges have too much power and need to be reined in. His opponents say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a deep conflict of interest. They say his planned overhaul will destroy the country’s democratic checks and balances and is a poorly disguised plot to make his criminal case fade away.

Monday’s demonstrat­ion was the largest to take place in the city in years. Thousands of people poured into Jerusalem from around the country on jam-packed trains, hoisting flags and chanting “democracy” as they exited the station.

“They hear us,” opposition leader Yair Lapid told the crowd as he pointed at the parliament building. “They hear our strength and our commitment. They pretend they don’t hear. They pretend they’re not afraid. But they hear, and they are afraid.”

Organizers say that more than 100,000 people joined Monday’s rally. They included Arab, women’s rights and LGBTQ activists as well as opposition parties. They were joined by groups of the academic community, army reservists, students, retirees and young families.

The crowd was noisy, blowing horns, chanting “democracy,” singing and whistling. But the event passed without incident and police said there were no arrests.

Many protesters carried the blue-and-white Israeli flag and posters decrying what they said was an attack on the country’s democratic institutio­ns.

Other large demonstrat­ions were held in cities around the country.

Despite a call by Israel’s figurehead president to freeze the legislatio­n and begin a dialogue with the opposition, Netanyahu pressed ahead with his program.

A parliament­ary committee controlled by a Netanyahu ally passed the first pieces of legislatio­n connected to the plan.

They include a proposal to give the Netanyahu-dominated legislatur­e control over judicial appointmen­ts. Currently, judges are appointed by an independen­t committee that includes lawyers, politician­s and judges.

A second proposal would take away the Supreme Court’s authority to review the legality over major pieces of legislatio­n known as “Basic Laws.”

Still in the works is another proposal to give parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it does not agree with. Opponents say the proposal would push Israel toward a system like Hungary and Poland in which the leader controls all major levers of power.

During the unruly committee vote, opposition members stood on the conference table, pounded the desks and shouted “Shame!” The committee chairman, Simcha Rothman, a member of a farright religious party, ejected several opposition politician­s.

Monday’s vote sends the first pieces of legislatio­n to the full parliament — which would have to pass them again in three separate votes.

 ?? AMIR LEVY/GETTY ?? Protesters attend a massive demonstrat­ion Monday in front of Israeli parliament in Jerusalem as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s overhaul plans pressed on.
AMIR LEVY/GETTY Protesters attend a massive demonstrat­ion Monday in front of Israeli parliament in Jerusalem as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s overhaul plans pressed on.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States