Protests against the government’s proposed judicial reforms are set to continue on Saturday evening for the 18th week in succession, with demonstrations planned in over 150 locations across Israel.
The central demonstration will take place in Tel Aviv, where hundreds of thousands of protesters will gather on Kaplan interchange. The Tel Aviv demonstration will be headlined by speakers such as former justice and foreign minister Tzipi Livni and Shikma Bressler, one of the leading protest organizers.
Prior to Saturday’s protests, protest organizers released a statement demanding opposition head Yair Lapid and possible prime ministerial candidate, National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz, to “come together to make a decision in the coming week” regarding the judicial reform negotiations with the coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the President’s Residence.
Organizers warned that if an agreement on an independent committee to select judges cannot be reached, the opposition must end the negotiations. “It’s either judges whipped into submission or democracy,” they said, further claiming that talks at President Isaac Herzog’s are a “plot to waste time in order to pass the national budget.”
Israelis who oppose the Israeli government’s planned judicial overhaul protest in support of former supreme court President Aharon Barak, outside his home in Tel Aviv, May 4, 2023 (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)Protests, marches planned in Tel Aviv, Haifa
The Kaplan interchange, along with key roads inside Tel Aviv, will be closed starting at 4:30 p.m. by Israel Police in preparation for the protests. The entrance and exit to Ayalon Highway will be closed from the Kaplan interchange, with fears that protesters will once again attempt to block the highway.
In Haifa, a march is planned to take place at 6:00 p.m. from the Carmel neighborhood to Horev, leading to the central demonstration in Horev later in the evening.
Roads will be blocked off by police in the nearby area throughout the evening as necessary.
Saturday evening’s protests come two days after Israelis marked a nationwide ‘Equality Day’-themed Day of Disruption on Thursday, saying equal rights will be threatened by the government’s judicial overhaul plan and lowering the age of exemption from IDF service for haredim.
The protests included roadblocks, marches and artistic displays in dozens of locations throughout the country. The activities continued throughout the day, including a significant wave in the morning and another in the afternoon and evening. Four protesters were arrested, three in Haifa and one at Hakfar Hayarok.
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