Numerous rallies took place on Thursday to condemn a reform of the judicial system under consideration in the Israeli parliament, a day after the government rejected the president’s call for compromise on the divisive text, AFP comments.

In the absence of police estimates, the Israeli press estimated the number of demonstrators at “tens of thousands of people.” Due to its scale, the protest is one of the most important popular mobilization movements in the history of Israel, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in May.

The reform, with several provisions that have already passed first reading in parliament, “is the end of democracy,” according to one placard seen throughout the day in central Tel Aviv, while other demonstrations were organized in Haifa, in the northern Israel, or Jerusalem.

“I fear that this place will become a religious state, that Jewish laws will come to the fore and that democratic freedom as we know it will no longer exist,” Liat Zvi, 52, a university researcher, told AFP from Tel Aviv. came to the demonstration in the seaside city, where protesters blocked the main city highway.

Another large-scale rally began at 19:00 (17:00 GMT) in Habima Square in the center of the city, attended by leaders of opposition parties.

At a joint press conference, they said they were accepting an offer from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who on Wednesday presented a compromise draft of the reform bill that was immediately rejected by the ruling coalition.

“Anyone who thinks that a civil war is impossible has no idea how close we are to it (…) but I will not let that happen,” Herzog said on Wednesday, adding that he was convinced that “the majority of Israelis want compromise”.

“President Herzog’s proposal is not perfect and it is not what we wanted, but it is a fair compromise that allows us to live together,” and “we accept it,” said centrist Yair Lapid, the opposition leader.

The protest movement began in early January after the presentation of the reform by the government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli right-wing figure who formed an alliance with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

The project, which aims to limit the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, as well as general government policy, has been widely condemned by protesters.

They accuse the prime minister, accused of corruption in a number of cases, of wanting to use the law to overturn a possible conviction against him.

Lawmakers passed a first reading on Tuesday of one piece of reform legislation that strengthens the conditions under which the Supreme Court can invalidate a general law and allows parliament to protect the law from any repeal.

Other criticized provisions, in particular regarding the procedure for appointing judges, were already adopted in February in the first reading.

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.

Immediately after the presentation, the consensus project developed by President Herzog was rejected by the government as a “one-sided compromise”, the Prime Minister believed that the “key points” of the presidential proposal only “perpetuate the existing situation without introducing the necessary balance”. between the authorities”.

During an official visit to Berlin on Thursday, Netanyahu defended his controversial justice reform in the face of “great concern” expressed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“I am attentive to what is happening in the country” and to the numerous demonstrations against the project, he assured, “but we have to bring something that corresponds to the mandate that we received (in the November elections that allowed Netanyahu to return to power) and we will do it responsibly.”