Organizers of the protests against the government’s plans to remake Israel’s judiciary and weaken its powers said Saturday that the demonstrations would begin with a minute of silence in the wake of Friday night’s deadly Jerusalem terror attack.
“The murderous attack last night in Jerusalem tears the heart and soul. We share in the pain and mourning of the families of the murdered and wish for the recovery of the injured,” organizers said in a statement.
The main Tel Aviv event will be held without music as a mark of respect for the families of those murdered, the statement read.
coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 21, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Organizers of the protests against the government’s plans to remake Israel’s judiciary and weaken its powers said Saturday that the demonstrations would begin with a minute of silence in the wake of Friday night’s deadly Jerusalem terror attack.
“The murderous attack last night in Jerusalem tears the heart and soul. We share in the pain and mourning of the families of the murdered and wish for the recovery of the injured,” organizers said in a statement.
The main Tel Aviv event will be held without music as a mark of respect for the families of those murdered, the statement read.
Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?Keep Watching
Rallies were to be held Saturday evening, as they were last week, at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square and near the Azrieli Center towers.
Additional protests were expected in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Herzliya and other cities.
The events are all expected to be held under heavy security, after forces were bolstered across the country and in the West Bank after seven people were shot dead by a Palestinian outside a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Police said Saturday morning that the national alert had been raised to its highest level but have not clarified if and how the policing of the protests may be impacted.
Organizers were once again expecting large numbers of people to attend the rallies, after last week’s demonstrations were assessed to have drawn well over 100,000 protesters.
Speakers this week at the Tel Aviv rally were set to include former police chief Roni Alsheich, who oversaw the police investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which led to an indictment against the premier and his ongoing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 21, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Organizers of the protests against the government’s plans to remake Israel’s judiciary and weaken its powers said Saturday that the demonstrations would begin with a minute of silence in the wake of Friday night’s deadly Jerusalem terror attack.
“The murderous attack last night in Jerusalem tears the heart and soul. We share in the pain and mourning of the families of the murdered and wish for the recovery of the injured,” organizers said in a statement.
The main Tel Aviv event will be held without music as a mark of respect for the families of those murdered, the statement read.
Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?Keep Watching
Rallies were to be held Saturday evening, as they were last week, at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square and near the Azrieli Center towers.
Additional protests were expected in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Herzliya and other cities.
The events are all expected to be held under heavy security, after forces were bolstered across the country and in the West Bank after seven people were shot dead by a Palestinian terrorist outside a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in East Jerusalem.[(https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2023/01/AP23027703390305.jpg)
Police said Saturday morning that the national alert had been raised to its highest level but have not clarified if and how the policing of the protests may be impacted.
Organizers were once again expecting large numbers of people to attend the rallies, after last week’s demonstrations were assessed to have drawn well over 100,000 protesters.
Speakers this week at the Tel Aviv rally were set to include former police chief Roni Alsheich, who oversaw the police investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which led to an indictment against the premier and his ongoing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
[(https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2022/12/F220111YS17.jpg)Former Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich arrives to testify before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, January 11, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In addition, former MK Shirly Pinto, doctors’ union head Prof. Hagai Levine, and constitutional law expert Prof. Yaniv Roznai will all speak at Habima Square, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel said.
The protests are part of a groundswell of opposition to the hardline government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary.
The plans call to severely restrict the High Court’s capacity to strike down laws and government decisions, and there would also be an “override clause” that would enable the Knesset to re-legislate any such struck-down laws with a bare majority of 61.
The proposed changes would also give the government complete control over the selection of judges; prevent the court from using a test of “reasonableness” to judge legislation and government decisions; and allow ministers to appoint their own legal advisers, instead of getting counsel from advisers operating under the aegis of the Justice Ministry.
Top economists, Israeli bank chiefs and leading businesspeople have warned Netanyahu of potential economic fallout from his government’s proposals for a sweeping makeover of the country’s judiciary.