Israel: Tens of thousands demonstrate against planned judicial reform

Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated again in Israel against the planned judicial reform. In some cities, there were on the tenth Saturday evening of the protests in a row participant records, as Israeli media reported. In the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv alone, around 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets, in Haifa around 50,000. There were also rallies in Jerusalem, Beersheba, Eilat and several other cities. According to the organizers, a total of half a million people protested across the country.

Police officers reportedly briefly detained a Haaretz newspaper reporter as he made his way to the rally in Tel Aviv. Accordingly, there had been complaints about a tweet by the journalist, in which he called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "dictator" and advised him not to travel to Berlin in the coming week.

According to the government's plans, it should be possible for parliament to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court by a simple majority. In addition, politicians should be given more influence in the appointment of judges. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had also expressed concern about this.

President Herzog opposes the reform

A few days ago, Israeli President Izchak Herzog spoke out publicly for the first time against the plans of the right-wing religious government. The judicial reform is wrong, repressive and undermines Israel's democratic foundations, he said. He had also announced that he had brokered a compromise between supporters and opponents of the reform. Details were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, judicial reform continues to progress. Core elements of the controversial reform could pass the final reading in parliament next week, Israeli media reported.

The bill could also play into the hands of Prime Minister Netanyahu in a corruption trial that has been running against Netanyahu for some time.

Critics see the reform as a threat to the separation of powers and warn that Israel could turn into a dictatorship. The government argues that the Supreme Court currently exerts too much political influence.