On Sunday night in Tel Aviv, the “March of the Million” mega-rally drew an estimated 200,000 supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposals for judicial reform.
Speakers got ready to address the crowd as tens of thousands more people arrived.
The large protest began when the legislature passed a hotly contested plan to restrict the Supreme Court’s use of the so-called reasonableness threshold.
The proposal would prohibit judges from using “reasonableness” as a defense to overturn decisions taken by the Cabinet, ministers, and “other elected officials as set by law.”
Right-wing activists declared last week that “the entire national camp will come to Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv on the eve of the conclusion of the legislative proceedings [to annul the] reasonableness ground.
“Stand with the leaders of the national camp and the coalition’s Knesset members, and tell them: The country is with you! Finish passing the legislation! 64 [Knesset] mandates are not treated differently from other citizens.
On July 23, 2023, a crowd of about 200,000 supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposals for judicial reform gathered on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street.
From more than 100 cities around the nation, protesters took charter buses to Tel Aviv.
Additionally, social media users posted videos of hundreds of people arriving by train, dispelling opposition assertions that Israelis are united in opposition to judicial reform.
In November’s general election, the public chose to support judicial change. Other signs read, “Physicians for the Reform,” “Professors for Legal Reform,” and “Dictatorship of the High Court.”
Around 600,000 people, according to organizers, participated in the previous large-scale demonstration in favor of judicial reform, which took place on April 27 in Jerusalem next to the Knesset.
Right-wing activists are hoping to reclaim the narrative after 29 weeks of anti-reform rallies that have made headlines not just in the Jewish state but also around the world.
The final vote is anticipated to take place on Monday or Tuesday. The coalition administration hopes to adopt the reasonableness standard amendment into law before the Knesset breaks on July 30.
The bill received initial approval from the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee last week.
The amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary was remanded with nine committee members voting in favor and seven against.
After tens of thousands of protesters against the reforms arrived in Israel’s capital the previous evening, several streets in Jerusalem were closed to traffic on Sunday.
From Tel Aviv, the majority of the demonstrators marched 40 miles, with additional participants joining along the way.
In Gan Sacher Park, next to the Knesset, the Supreme Court, and other official buildings, protesters set up tents.
A proposal for judicial reform put up by the Histadrut labor federation has been rejected by the Likud Party of the prime minister, who stated that “the proposal would completely neuter the amendment on the issue of reasonableness and requires total concession on all the other elements of the reform.
Arnon Bar-David, the head of the Histadrut, made it plain that he is not currently seeking a nationwide strike similar to the one that paralyzed the nation.
The Israel Medical Association, on the other hand, launched a labor dispute and has two weeks to implement sanctions.
Last week, tens of thousands of doctors throughout the nation participated in a two-hour “warning strike,” during which they only provided emergency and life-saving care.
The association’s leader, Professor Zion Hagay, has recently received a letter from hundreds of doctors urging him to launch a general strike “until the coup is completely shelved.
Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, returned from his trip to the United States on Sunday.
Previously, he had discussions with members of the opposition and the ruling coalition at his home in Jerusalem in an effort to reach a compromise.
The head of state has been working both now and during the trip “to fully explore negotiation efforts in order to reach an agreement between the sides,” according to a statement from Herzog’s office.
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