in Israel, mobilization is still growing against the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform project

The mobilization is not weakening in Israel, where some 250,000 people, according to the media, marched on Saturday March 4 in several cities of the country against the government’s judicial reform projects.

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They fear the end of Israeli democracy and have taken to the streets. According to the media, 250,000 people demonstrated on Saturday March 4 in several cities in Israel to protest against the government’s judicial reform plan, which combines Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national right and the religious, racist and homophobic extreme right and wants to weaken the powers of the Supreme Court.

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During the week, and again on Saturday evening on television, the far-right Minister of National Security called opponents “anarchists”. So they wanted to prove him wrong. “The three of us are still officers in the Army, we still serve, explains Raz, surrounded by his brother and sister, singing hatikvahthe Israeli anthem. We are not anarchists, we still serve our country, we are afraid of what will happen to it. We are afraid of losing him.”

A sign during the demonstration against the Netanyahu government's justice reform plan, in Tel Aviv, March 4, 2023. (FREDERIC METEZEAU / RADIO FRANCE)

Several accesses to Tel Aviv are blocked. AT at the request of the Minister of Security, the police are much more numerous and strict than the other times but that does not scare Shani, the sister. “We don’t want any escalation in violence, but it’s very important for us to speak our mind and be here, even if he tries to scare us by sending all these police.” Gal, the brother, defends what he calls “the Israeli model”. “I’m a proud Israeli but some things shouldn’t happen. Some freedoms will disappear like for gays, for women and for me as a secular person and not a religious one.”

“You can’t have a democracy when you have an occupation that continues [en Palestine].”

Tal, a protester in Tel Aviv

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Tal, who marches with a cardboard Statue of Liberty, rejects discourse that divides society. “There are many different groups in Israel. You have religious people who vote for Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahou, ndlr] and others against Bibi. So I don’t think all religious people are bad people.”

For the young woman, it is also necessary to denounce the Israeli occupation in Palestine: “I think it makes everything more difficult, you can’t say you believe in rights, freedom and equality when you still have an occupation.” Those who want to reform justice are also supporters of the occupation and colonization of Palestine.

Frédéric Métézeau’s report on the demonstration in Tel Aviv

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