Over 90,000 gather in Israel's capital to protest judicial reform

Some 90,000 people gathered in Jerusalem and in other major cities across the country on Monday for a massive strike and protest, as the coalition held its first votes on its flagship and controversial judicial reform.

The number of protestors was a police estimate based on older and imprecise technologies such as cellular networks and traffic analysis, but more up-to-date technologies showed that there were over 300,000 protests in Jerusalem alone, according to an analysis published by the "Hi-Tech Protest Movement".

The protestors chanted "De-mo-cra-cy", "Shame" and "Liberty, Equality, Quality Government," as politicians, protest leaders, musicians and other speakers took to the stage in succession for over three hours, beginning at 12:00 p.m.

The protestors came from all walks of life and included activists for women's rights, the Black Flags movement, reservists who marched to Jerusalem from Latrun last week, thousands of doctors, hundreds of hi-tech companies and law offices, university students and staff, high school students, and many other organizations and groups.

Convoys of vehicles traversed the country from as far as the Galilee and Eilat toward Jerusalem, as Israelis from all across the country joined the demonstration.

The train station at the entrance to Jerusalem was packed prior to the protest, and at its end, the trains began running in a "fill up and go" format.

After the protest, some protestors marched towards the prime minister's residence on Azza Street, while others blocked the Jerusalem Light Rail.

Minor skirmishes occurred at the beginning of the protest between demonstrators and police, but the rest of the demonstration went by without violence.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) announced on Monday that they had reached out to opposition leader and Yesh Atid chair MK Yair Lapid and National Unity chair MK Benny Gantz in order to set a joint meeting at the president's residence, "even as soon as tonight."

"We call on the heads of the opposition to begin a dialogue without preconditions. The time has come," Levin and Rothman wrote.

Lapid responded, "As the president stressed in his speech and as was explained over and over again, the necessary condition to begin national dialogue is an immediate stop of all of the legislative processes for a set time, in which there will be dialogue with the president's mediation. If minister Levin and MK Rothman agree, we would be happy to meet at the president's residence tomorrow morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out strongly against the over 90,000 people protesting outside the Knesset on Monday afternoon, saying that the opposition leaders were "deliberately dragging the country down into anarchy."

In the video released by the prime minister, he said that "the opposition is running amok inside the Knesset, and MKs are jumping on the tables," before adding that "at the leftist demonstration they are calling the Prime Minister a traitor."

Lapid said in response, "Mr. Netanyahu, for once in your life take responsibility for your actions instead of blaming others. The anarchy is because of your mad government, the damage to the economy and security is because of the wild legislation that you are leading, and the loss of unity amongst the people is a direct outcome of your never-ending incitement."
 

Labor leader Merav Michaeli also responded, saying: "You talk to us about a substantive discussion? You are the instigator-in-chief. You are the first to pit one part of this nation against the other. You are the first one to come and eliminate the judicial system for your own needs. You are the one who wants to crush our democracy.

"We will march against it, we will protest against it, in a quiet, orderly, legal way. There is such a thing as the law, Bibi, and we keep it."

A protestor disrupted Shas chairman MK Arye Deri's statement to the press prior to his party's weekly faction meeting on Monday, shouting "fight for democracy." The protester was immediately forcibly removed from the room.

Shas responded to President Isaac Herzog's speech last night calling for dialogue.

Deri said that he respected the president and that now there was a "minimum of one week" to create dialogue, as the first reading in the Knesset will likely only happen next Monday. Deri said that he had not heard anyone from the demonstrations or the opposition who was willing to talk.

He clarified that his party would not stop advancing the reform, but that dialogue was possible based on the president's plan.

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.

"We are all here together guarding our shared home.

"We are facing a government that is weak against our enemy and cruel towards its people. A government that is obsessed with only one thing - destroying our magnificent judicial system that was established here for 75 years.

"They say the crisis can wait, they are not concerned with the cost of living - they are not concerned with anything except the destruction of our democratic regime.

"The corrupt rose up against the court. shame!

"Their plan is simple - politicization of the election of judges in the State of Israel - will not happen! Politicization of the legal advice to the government - this is not honest! Politicization of the prosecution so that the accused can direct it - do you agree?? It will not happen!!

"I grew up on the teachings of Menachem Begin, may he rest in peace, from whom we learned about the supremacy of the law - this was article number one in the freedom movement. From him, we learned that the judges should be independent and accordingly also who appoints them. That is why today, unfortunately, the destruction of Likud led by Netanyahu is working to bury the teachings of Likud founder Menachem Begin.

"Silence is slime wrote Jabotinsky. I call on my Likud friends who grew up on the same values, do not continue to follow the extremists and the corrupt, join us in defending the path of Menachem Begin.

"Democracy is a great miracle for a country where the majority of its olim came from undemocratic countries and we preserved democracy for 75 years in the media with wars and incessant waves of terror - this is a great miracle that we must convey to the generations. There is no way we will give up in this fight!

"We reached out following the president's words - the government and the coalition rejected the president's outline and trampled under their boots the president's initiative.

"I say to the government - the full responsibility lies with you, you are tearing the people apart, you are dividing the people, you are dividing the law of Israel as the leaders of the Melal wrote just a few days ago.

"Be sure of one thing - the people will defeat the government!!

"Netanyahu - stop hiding behind Levin and Rothman. You are currently in entry islands - reverse. Reverse. You will be defeated in this campaign and all that will be remembered by you is how I tried to destroy the democratic regime.

"The majority of public opinion polls are against the coup d'état - it won't happen and it won't happen!!"

"There are people sitting in the Israeli Knesset who are trying to assassinate Israeli democracy; we will not give in to any false 'negotiations'"

"This amazing flag of which there are so many here, the flag of Israel, is the flag of a democratic country. And in this building that is supposed to be the bastion that protects our democracy, there are people sitting today who are trying to assassinate democracy.

"You are here to tell them - we will not let you put a gun to the temple of our democracy under any circumstances. We said right from the start - no negotiation about the override clause

"No negotiation with those who are on trial for eliminating the judicial system that stands in judgement on them.

"I tell you now, the attempt to tag this protest, the attempt to dupe the hundreds of thousands who went out to strike today, the attempt to prevent you from demonstrating with the false magic word "negotiations" - will fail.

"Friends, we will not give in to any false statements. We will continue and increase the protest. Thanks to you we will intensify the strike and increase the resistance until they have to retreat and our democracy will win!"

"I want to tell you what is happening right now in the Knesset, over the fence and the wall and the guards, beyond the police and the Knesset guard and soldiers and the limelight, I want you to know: They hear us. They hear our call. They hear the call of real strength. They hear our power and our commitment. They pretend they cannot hear us, and they pretend not to care, but they hear and they are scared.

"On the outside, they are laughing cynically and say it won't change anything, but on the inside, in the inner rooms, they are trembling. Just as rulers have always trembled when they discovered that they were faced by people who were not willing to give up. They hear us, and every day, they hear us more.

"They hear us, and suddenly, they discover that we are not willing to play the game the way they planned it. We are not here just to pay taxes and send our kids to the military. We will not shut ourselves at home while they try to turn the State of Israel into a dark dictatorship and silence us.

"They won't silence us. 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.

"We are Jews, we are patriotic, we are also the people of Israel. If they continue this madness, they shouldn't talk about unity. There is no such thing as unity when only one side makes the rules.

"They hear us and understand that everything they thought about us was wrong. They convinced themselves that were are tired - we will never tire. They convinced themselves that we have no strength for the struggle - now they cannot believe their eyes.

"What they are hearing from here, from this place, is not the voice of despair but the voice of hope. What they hear is not hatred but the love of our nation. That is what scares them so much, that is what makes our voice so clear and strong.

"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.'

"We will fight in the streets, will fight in the building, we will fight until we win."

Major protests have hit Jerusalem Monday with hundreds of thousands set to converge on the Knesset and Supreme Court to voice their thoughts on the Israeli government's planned judicial reforms. This is also set to see major pubilc transportation issues due to limited and crowded buses, trains and light rails, as well as street closures. But what does the average person on the streets of Israel's capital think about all this?

To find out, The Jerusalem Post asked around and took a trip to the bustling alleyways of Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market to see what today's shoppers and vendors think about judicial reform and massive protests.

And despite the sheer number of protesters in a politically charged atmosphere, the marketplace was as bustling as ever.

Anti-judicial reform sentiments in the marketplace

Right away, some anti-reform sentiments were evident. 

"The time has come!" one shopkeeper declared. 

Protestors gather on a Tel Aviv highway to demonstrate against the judicial reform. (credit: BLACK FLAGS MOVEMENT)

"Israel must be a democracy and it must be that way in the court, the government and everywhere else."

Despite being so passionate about his views, the shopkeeper refused to go to the protest. "Why don't I go to the protest? Because I have to work," he explained, noting that "this country is only a democracy for those with enough money."

"This country is only a democracy for those with enough money."

Mahane Yehuda shopkeeper

One group of American tourists also expressed their opposition to judicial reform. 

"If they go through with it, they're going to have a real problem with American Jews," one of them said. However, she noted that the resulting public transportation issues didn't bother her. "None of it's bothered me today. I haven't come across any issues where I am so far."

What do people think of Netanyahu?

Some others expressed support of both the reform and of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who historically has been popular in the Mahane Yehuda market.

"Everything will all work out in the end," one shopkeeper said. "This is still the government of Benjamin Netanyahu."

However, this opinion wasn't universal.

"Netanyahu? A leftist!" another vendor said. "He's a puppet dancing for the coalition."

Protesters flock to Mahane Yehuda before going to the Knesset

But also present at the marketplace that day were protesters, gathering here before heading off to the Knesset or Supreme Court.

"The judicial reform isn't good," one veteran protester from Tel Aviv explained. "If there are problems, don't just throw everything out. You need to fix them."

"Which side am I on? This side," one protester said while hoisting an Israeli flag.

"I'm a Jerusalemite, though I now live in Jaffa and I grew up in a Likud family, a revisionsit family raised on Ze'ev Jabotinsky," he said. "What's happening today in the Knesset goes against what the Likud used to be."

He continued: "There are security issues, an economic crisis. What they're dealing withn now isn't their first priority."

This protester also refused to call it a judicial reform, but a revolution.

"It's not a reform, it's a revolution," he said. "A reform comes to fix things. This has come to ruin it."

"It's not a reform, it's a revolution. A reform comes to fix things. This has come to ruin it."

Protester

As a born and raised Jerusalemite, he expressed his sympathies for the transportation issues but doubled down on its necessity.

"Protests aren't comfortable," he said.

Protests cause public transportation issues, causing problems for some in Jerusalem

But others bemoaned just how much the protests are interfering with their day-to-day life trying to get to work. One bat sherut (National Service worker) expressed as much after a difficult commute to work from her nearby Sherut Leumi (National Service) apartment.

"The bus stops were busier, and you could tell people were getting a little pushier, possibly because several buses were canceled and extremely delayed," she explained. 

"The real challenge will be commuting back tonight. I expect the light rails will get even more crowded, something a busy bat sherut does not have time for."