For the ninth week in a row, thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest against a highly controversial reform of the judicial system that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants and which they see as harmful to democracy.

The right-wing and far-right coalition formed in December by Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to push through a law that would, among other things, give the government the power to decide on the selection of judges and limit the Supreme Court’s prerogatives to overturn or rule against the government. , causing, since the announcement of the text in early January, mass demonstrations.

“Democracy, democracy!” or “We will not be defeated,” chanted demonstrators in central Tel Aviv amid a cloud of Israeli flags.

Demonstrations were also organized in other cities of Israel.

Clashes between protesters and the police

Clashes broke out in Tel Aviv on Wednesday between demonstrators and police, who used water cannons and stun grenades to disperse crowds. Eleven wounded protesters were treated at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, a spokesman for the medical center told AFP.

According to its opponents, the text, aimed at reducing the influence of justice in favor of political power, threatens the democratic nature of the state of Israel.

But Benjamin Netanyahu and his Justice Minister Yariv Levin believe it is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between parliamentarians and the Supreme Court, which the prime minister and his allies say is politicized.

“I love my country, I’m a Zionist and I want Israel to remain a Jewish and democratic country,” Revital Levi, 52, who lives in Tel Aviv, told AFP. “We need a strong, autonomous judiciary and separation of powers” to “guarantee democracy,” she said.

“I don’t miss an event,” said Nimrod Mimran, 24, a quality assurance (QA) engineer. “I have to fight,” he added, saying he “feared for his rights.”

The contested measures have already been adopted

Two key provisions of the reform – the first, which changes the process of appointing judges, and the second, which aims to prevent the Supreme Court from overturning any new basic law voted by the parliament – have already been passed by the people’s deputies in the first reading.

Another highly controversial provision of the reform, the introduction of a “derogatory” provision that allows parliament to overturn certain Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority vote, is due to be voted on at first reading later.

The demonstrations, which generally condemn the government’s policies, appear so far to have no effect on the resolve of Netanyahu and his majority.

The opposition, including its centrist leader Yair Lapid, has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of wanting the reform to serve his own interests.

Since Netanyahu himself has been tried for corruption in several cases, his opponents believe that if the reform is passed, he could use it to overturn a possible court ruling that would have convicted him. (Source Agerpres)