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TEL AVIV, April 22 (AP) Thousands of protesters flocked to Tel Aviv and cities across Israel on Saturday to express their disapproval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government and its divisions. Opposition to the national justice system reform plan.
The massive protests – which have raged every week since the start of the year – come just ahead of Israel’s landmark 75th anniversary celebrations.
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The holiday, which commemorates Israel’s founding in 1948 and is usually a show of national unity, has been marred by one of the worst crises in Israeli history.
Netanyahu’s government’s plan to weaken the Supreme Court has angered Israelis, who see it as an attack on the country’s system of checks and balances and a threat to its democracy.
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“It’s not about so-called judicial reform, it’s about democracy,” Sheila Katz, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, said at a rally in central Tel Aviv, a city dominated by blue and white flags.
“In order for your holy courts to protect the rights of all, they must remain independent of politics.”
Crowds of Israelis carried signs proclaiming Israel’s 75th birthday and a banner with the words “Minister of Crime” covering Netanyahu’s face.
The protests have aroused enthusiasm from all walks of life in Israeli society. Thousands of officers in the army’s elite reserve unit say they will refuse to go to work. High-tech business leaders and security agencies have spoken out against the proposal. The unions called for a general strike.
President Joe Biden, the leader of Israel’s most important ally, even publicly disowned Netanyahu, telling him he “cannot continue down this path.”
Angry public protests last month that brought Israeli cities to a standstill and threatened to shut down the economy forced Netanyahu to delay the plan in hopes of finding a compromise.
But the protesters were not deterred. Crowds of Israelis chanting “Shame!” flooded the streets in the weeks after Netanyahu backed down and demanded the reforms be rolled back entirely.
The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his partners in the most hardline coalition in Israel’s history, the final say in the appointment of state judges.
It would also give the parliament, controlled by his allies, the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings and limit the court’s ability to review laws. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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