The “March of the Million” event, scheduled for Thursday evening outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, is part of an effort by the Israeli right to demonstrate that the majority of the country backs judicial reform.
Six million shekels ($1.65 million), of which 1 million shekels came from crowdsourcing and the remainder from significant contributors and coalition parties, were raised for the protest, said the organizers.
The Likud Party gave 600,000 shekels, while the Religious Zionism Party gave 1.2 million shekels.
According to the organizers, 1,000 buses will be available to carry guests from all across the nation.
After 16 weeks of anti-reform rallies, which have made headlines both in Israel and around the world, supporters of the reform movement expect to reclaim the narrative.
These protests have included roadblocks, confrontations with Knesset members supporting reform, and conscientious objector IDF personnel.
They have prevented the coalition from resetting the legal system and compelled it to engage in extra-parliamentary negotiations with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, who is typically a figurehead.
Reformers contend the opposition is a small, hostile, and noisy minority. They maintain that the majority of Israelis approve of the measures.
They cite the November 1 election, in which the right earned a 64-seat majority in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset and, in contrast to what many people believe, judicial reform was a top agenda for all the coalition parties.
Several hundred buses have been planned to transport attendees to the event on Thursday, according to Matan Peleg, CEO of the Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu.
“The protest is a resounding support of democracy. The National Camp finally and unambiguously won an election that serves as a clear mandate after five rounds of voting. Sadly, instead of being handed 100 days to establish itself, the new government faced 100 days of steadfast resistance, some of which included chaos.
The truth is that Zionism and democracy itself have both been targets of these never-ending attacks.
We are urging everyone to visit the Knesset today because of this. Support democracy! Support Zionism! Stand up for the independent State of Israel!”
Israel Katz, the minister of infrastructure and energy for the Likud Party, Yariv Levin, the minister of justice for the party, and Bezalel Smotrich, the minister of finance for the Religious Zionism Party, are all scheduled to speak at the event.
Even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not anticipated to attend the event, he supports it behind the scenes by meeting with key players to make sure they can mobilize the public.
He has urged the haredi coalition participants to participate.
The prime minister sees the next gathering as an “expression of public legitimacy” for the ruling coalition and, consequently, for its reform agenda.
Those JNS talked with expressed confidence they will deliver, noting the protest of March 27, saying the event will be “the largest demonstration in [Israel’s] history.”
One hundred thousand people attended that spontaneous protest, which took place on the day of the Knesset.
Later that evening, Netanyahu announced a “timeout” for negotiations that would last until the opening of the Knesset’s summer session on Sunday to “provide a real opportunity for real dialogue.”
The prime minister emphasized that his administration is still dedicated to enacting judicial reform.
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