Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to reform Israel’s judicial system are expected to gather in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening for another “March of the Million” mega-rally.
“Stand alongside the heads of the national camp and the Knesset members of the coalition and tell them: The people are with you! Complete the legislation! Sixty-four mandates are not second-class citizens,” continued the flier, which was signed by 29 Zionist NGOs.
Confirmed participants include Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Education Minister Yoav Kish and Women’s Advancement Minister May Golan. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman also called on their followers to take to the streets.
The previous large-scale protest in support of judicial reform, which took place near the Knesset in Jerusalem on April 27, was attended by some 600,000 people, organizers said, putting to bed claims by the opposition that Israeli citizens are united against the plan. It also provided much-needed backing to Netanyahu’s conservative government.
Earlier this week, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved for final readings a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s use of the reasonableness standard. With nine lawmakers voting in favor and seven opposed, the amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary will now head back to the plenum for the second and third readings needed for it to become law.
Coalition members welcomed the approval. “We did it. A holiday for democracy and all of Israel! Many thanks to the dedicated chairman of the committee, Simcha Rothman, for the hard work, on Monday in the plenary!” stated coalition whip MK Ofir Katz of Likud.
Critics say the reasonableness standard is legally vague and has been used by the court to encroach upon the government’s authority. However, opponents say the legislation will erode Israel’s system of checks and balances, and lead to abuse of power.
In related news, on Tuesday, a handful of anti-reform protesters reportedly raised the PLO flag in the heart of Tel Aviv, drawing ire on social media. The incident marked at least the second time that multiple left-wing protesters sported the Palestinian banner.
Six months ago, Channel 14 correspondent Moti Kastel asked a group of judicial reform opponents in Tel Aviv whether they weren’t “ashamed” to be waving such flags, particularly in the aftermath of a terror attack that killed seven Jewish worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue just a days earlier.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)
