Protesters launch nationwide ‘day of disruption’ against justice overhaul
Around Israel, opponents of government’s legislation to hold rallies, marches, strikes and road-blocking; police prepare to thwart ‘disorder’
The protest movement against the Israeli government’s justice overhaul plan was set to escalate its tactics overnight on Wednesday in a “national day of disruption.”
The day was to include a long list of demonstrations and protest marches around the country, as well as temporary strikes at various workplaces and schools, the blocking of roads and “house calls” at or near the homes of coalition lawmakers and ministers.
The protest events were laid out in great detail on a dedicated website and map, with organisers indicating there were more planned actions that had not been announced publicly.
“Israel won’t be a dictatorship — the millions who have taken to the streets over the past eight weeks have made this clear — and we are now moving on to direct action,” the organisers said in a statement. “Tomorrow we will disrupt public order in the face of a government that is trying to disrupt the democratic order. Tens of thousands will go out to activities across the country to stop the regime coup, which has no support among the people.”
The Israel Police was preparing too, collecting intelligence on organisers’ plans and boosting forces in an attempt to minimise the disruption to the public.
The force said in a statement Tuesday that Tel Aviv’s Hashalom Junction would be blocked from 7:45am in both directions. The force added that it would show “zero tolerance toward disruptions of order, harm to property and harm to government symbols,” and wouldn’t allow road-blocking that wasn’t coordinated ahead of time.
“We are preparing for spontaneous road-blocking,” an unnamed senior police source was quoted as saying by the Maariv news site. “[The organisers’] goal is definitely to act in many areas, so we will be there to react quickly and efficiently.”
“We know the protesters plan to come to the homes of members of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and police will be there too,” the official added, referring to the Knesset panel that has spearheaded the discussions on the overhaul plan. “We might not reach everyone, but we will be in places on which we have credible and exact information.”
The committee was set to hold a vote on Wednesday to advance part of the government’s contentious legal overhaul, which it has steamrolled through the legislative process in recent weeks.
The protest movement urged police to “ignore” the man they deemed a “schoolyard bully,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has received increased powers over police policy and has urged a tough hand against the anti-government protests. The organisers called on cops to “secure the democratic protest and give [Ben Gvir] spare time to do the only thing he is knowledgeable in — making TikTok videos.”
Meanwhile in the Knesset, the House Committee was set to discuss which committee would host discussions of two overhaul bills that passed their preliminary reading in the plenum last week, and will prepare them for the reading out of their remaining plenum votes before they become law.
One of these bills, aimed at reinstating Shas party leader Aryeh Deri as a minister despite a High Court disqualification over his multiple past convictions, would eliminate court oversight on ministerial appointments, except for the basic requirements laid out in current laws.
The second bill would increase the government’s control of the Police Internal Investigations Department — a Justice Ministry body tasked with probing police wrongdoing — disconnecting it from the State Attorney’s Office and having the justice minister personally appoint its head.
Later in the day, the Knesset plenum was set to vote in a preliminary reading on a bill that would sharply reduce the circumstances under which the recusal of a prime minister could be ordered.
The government-pushed legislation follows media reports — since denied — that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara was considering forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a leave of absence for breaching the terms of a conflict of interest agreement he signed. The agreement bars him from dealing with the legal shakeup as it could affect the outcome of his ongoing corruption trial.
TIMES OF ISRAEL
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