Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid called on seven Likud MKs on Monday to oppose the government's judicial reforms.
The seven are Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, Energy Minister Yisrael Katz, MK Danny Danon and Knesset Economy Committee chair MK David Bitan.
Lapid addressed the seven by turning to their past. He mentioned Dichter's service as Shin Bet head, Edelstein's as a "prisoner of Zion", Gallant's long IDF career and more.
All of these politicians knew the problematic aspects of the judicial reform, and it was time for them to step up and do what is right, Lapid argued.
Israelis gather en masse in Jerusalem to protest reform
Tens of thousands of people began gathering in Jerusalem and in other major cities across the country on Monday for a massive protest that will span the nation as the government prepares to begin voting on its flagship and controversial judicial reform.
Protestors came from all walks of life and were led by activists who had participated in the women's protests, school and university students, the Black Flags movement and the reservists who marched to Jerusalem from Latrun last week.
They gathered across the country near Ben-Gurion Airport and in places like Herzliya, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The main protest is scheduled for near the Knesset and will kick off at about 1 pm (Israel time).
Convoys of vehicles made their way from the Galilee and Eilat toward Jerusalem as Israelis from all across the country joined the demonstration.
Over a million people are expected to strike.
The events were planned to begin at 10:00 a.m. with a prayer at the Western Wall, and then shift to the streets outside the Knesset beginning at 12:00 p.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon. People who committed to coming include thousands of doctors, hundreds of hi-tech companies, hundreds of law offices, university students and staff, high school students, and many other groups from "all branches and sectors," the organizers said.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid gave a speech outside the Knesset.
"They won't silence us," he said. "We will not stay quiet while they run over everything that is dear to us and everything that is holy to us. We don't work for them. We are partners with rights. We are not subjects, we are citizens. They pretend they'll be okay without us, but they know they won't.
"The struggle won't end today. It will be long. There will be highs and lows, but the day will come when every single man and woman who are here in the streets will tell their kids: 'The day the State of Israel needed me most, I was there. I lost battles but not the war. I was not silent, and they heard my voice.'
"In the Knesset, are sitting people who are trying to assassinate the Israeli democracy," said Labor Chairwoman MK Merav Michaeli. "There's no debate on an overrise clause, there's no negotiation with those who stand trial for eliminating the justice system that judges them. The attempt to prevent you from going out to protest with the lying magic word "conversation" will fail. We won't give in to lying conversation."