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Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government that opponents say threaten democracy and freedom.
Protesters gathered in central Tel Aviv just days after the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in the country’s 74-year history was sworn in.
“The settler government is against me,” read one placard. Another banner read “Shelter, Livelihood, Hope”. Some protesters held rainbow flags.
The protests were led by left-wing and Arab members of the Knesset. They argue that the plans proposed by the new cabinet will hinder the justice system and widen social disparities.
Protesters on the left slammed Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who on Wednesday unveiled the government’s long-promised judicial reform plan aimed at weakening the country’s top court.
Critics have accused the government of declaring war on the legal system, saying the plan would upend Israel’s system of checks and balances and undermine its democracy by giving the new ruling coalition absolute power.
“We’re really scared that our country is going to lose its democracy, that we’re going to a dictatorship because of a guy who wants to get out of his legal trial,” said Danny Simon, 77, a A protester from Yavne in the south of Tel Aviv. He was referring to Netanyahu, who was indicted in 2021 on corruption charges that he denies.
The protesters also called for peaceful coexistence between the country’s Jewish and Arab residents.
“We can now see many laws being promoted against LGBTQ, against Palestinians, against more minorities in Israel,” said Rula Daood of Stand Together, a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews. “We are here to say loud and clear that all of us, Arabs and Jews and the different and diverse communities in Israel, demand peace, equality and justice.”
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