‘Day of disruption’ against overhaul

(Times of Israel) – Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, and blocked streets with large rallies in Tel Aviv and in other cities across Israel, as nationwide demonstrations erupted in response to the government advancing part of its judicial overhaul legislation.

The demonstrations came the day after the Knesset gave initial approval for a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition pressed forward with contentious legislation to radically constrain the court’s independence and powers despite widespread opposition.

The legislation cancelling the “reasonableness” yardstick used by the courts is one of several bills proposed by the Netanyahu coalition. The overhaul plan has provoked more than six months of sustained protests by opponents, who say it is pushing the country toward authoritarian rule.

The bill passed by a vote of 64 to 56 after a long, stormy session at the Knesset in Jerusalem. The vote marked the first Knesset approval of a judicial overhaul bill since Netanyahu suspended the far-reaching legislative package in late March.

While the protests were overwhelmingly nonviolent – as was the case in previous anti-overhaul demonstrations – 77 people were arrested throughout the day. Most of the detained were for blocking roads and other violations of public order, but police alleged that some of the suspects assaulted officers. Toward the end of the evening, police intensified their dispersal measures, deploying a water cannon in Tel Aviv as well as other cities, and several incidents of officers beating demonstrators were caught on camera.

A number of protesters were injured, including a woman who was hit in the head by a high-pressure stream fired by a water cannon at demonstrators blocking the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The demonstrators at Ben-Gurion Airport beat drums, chanted slogans and brandished Israeli flags and banners that said, “Save our startup nation,” “Opposing dictatorship” and “Democracy will win,” as police struggled to contend with the massive crowd size.

Some scuffles broke out between officers and protesters, as police sought to prevent the demonstrators from interfering with airport operations.

As the event started, trains running to the airport were densely packed with people heading to the protest, who streamed out of the station chanting: “De-mo-cra-cy!” Police sought to restrict the crowd to certain areas to prevent the protesters from taking control over airport access roads, as they had at a similar demonstration last week.

Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was at the scene to oversee the police preparations. The protesters were restricted to a defined area “where they have the right to protest”, he said.

Police allowed some protesters to block a road to alleviate crowding, and barred some people from leaving the train station.

Some demonstrators broke through the cordoned-off areas to fully block transit along portions of the airport’s internal access roads.

The protesters were confined behind barriers by Border Police in some areas, sparking fears overcrowding could lead to a dangerous crush.

Shabtai dismissed concerns of overcrowding, calling it a “misrepresentation” in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster. Crowds thinned out later in the day, with no crush injuries reported.

Police manhandled some of the demonstrators, including by grabbing a man by his neck to force people into the designated protest area.

The demonstration surprised and caused problems for some uninvolved travellers. The departures area at the airport was lined with passengers who arrived up to 12 hours before their check-in.

Some tourists were caught off guard, with a visitor from Honduras saying, “We don’t really know what this is about.”

Police said no flights were disrupted and that over 70,000 travellers had transited through the airport during the day.

Seeking a way around police restrictions, activists based abroad equipped Israelis headed to Israel on flights with Israeli flags and other swag tied to the protest movement that they’d be able to immediately don upon landing. The activists met with travellers ahead of several flights from the US and Europe.

By the evening, police said they had arrested at least 77 people throughout the country, at least 45 of whom had been released from custody. Officers arrested seven people at the airport for incidents of public disturbance.

Among those arrested near Ben-Gurion Airport was an army officer with the rank of captain. The officer was not wearing his uniform and was released later in the evening the army said.

IDF troops up to the rank of lieutenant colonel, which is above captain, are allowed to take part in political protests, provided they are not wearing their uniform and are not identifiable as service members.

Shabtai denied police had used excessive force in a televised statement.

“We succeeded in safeguarding the right to protest and balancing between the freedom to protest and freedom of movement as much as possible,” he said.

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