Tens of thousands of Israelis marched in central Tel Aviv and in two other major cities on Saturday night, protesting far rightwing PM Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court — undermining democratic rule just weeks after his election.
Despite cold, rainy weather, marchers, many covered with umbrellas, held Israeli flags and placards saying “Criminal Government," “The End of Democracy,” and "We Are Preserving Our Shared Home." Netanyahu was guilty of a "legal putsch," read another.
Critics say Netanyahu's would cripple judicial independence, foster corruption, set back minority rights, and deprive Israel's court system of credibility.
Netanyahu and his ultranationalist security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered police to take tough action if protesters displayed Palestinian flags at Saturday’s protest. Social media footage showed a number of Palestinian flags on display in defiance of Netanyahu.
\u201cLive update: Tzipi Livni adresses anti-government protest in Tel Aviv: \u2018Nobody is above the law, not even the PM\u2019 https://t.co/LRqjToFYkN\u201d— TOI ALERTS (@TOI ALERTS) 1673726103
"Elections do not give anyone the power to destroy democracy itself," said former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni as she addressed the protest in Tel Aviv, adding that Israel's far-right government is "carrying out a political takeover of the country and waging a war against its democratic institutions."
"Spilled poison, lies, slandering one's brother, marking as an enemy anyone who thinks differently. [They are doing] everything so that we crumble from the inside and weaken as a society before the big attack," she said.
"We will stop you, and we will not compromise because democracy in Israel, our freedom and our rights are not political trade," Livni said. "They can call us traitors, but we are the ones who protect the motherland from them. They can threaten handcuffs – we are not afraid," she said.
\u201cReports say between 100-150k people protesters came to Tel Aviv to fight for democracy and against Netanyahu's attempts to change the legal system a la Hungary, so he can avoid the multiple legal cases he has against him.\u201d— Dr. Pinkeee\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udcbb@DrPinkeee@assemblag.es (@Dr. Pinkeee\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udcbb@DrPinkeee@assemblag.es) 1673728531
\u201cLightning illuminates the sky as protesters take part in a rally against the new government over reform plans for the country's judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, 14 January 2023. \ud83d\udcf7\ufe0f epa / Abir Sultan\n\n#Israel #protest #supremecourt #epaimages\u201d— EPA Images (@EPA Images) 1673719320
\u201cGood to see Israeli and Palestinian flags together. Demonstrating to preserve democracy in Israel.\u201d— Leon Rozewicz (@Leon Rozewicz) 1673724863
\u201cSeveral Palestinian flags were raised(raising a \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 was declared a criminal offence by new Israeli Gov) during tonight\u2019s protest in #Tel Aviv where more than 100k people are gathered to protest against the newly elected government. \n#\u05ea\u05dc \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d1 \n#\u062a\u0644_\u0623\u0628\u064a\u0628\u201d— Unit 085 (@Unit 085) 1673726962
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Common Dreams staff.