Thousands of Israelis Protest Government Legal Change Plans

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a demonstration against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, demanding the changes be scrapped rather than delayed. The protests have been held weekly for most of the year and they continue despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing in March that he was postponing the proposals to reach a compromise. Organizers of the protests, now in their 18th week, say they want to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu's government and lawmakers after the parliament resumed its work this week following a monthlong recess. In Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub and epicenter of the protests, protestors held a large banner addressing Netanyahu that read, "You will never be a dictator!" The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his partners in Israel's most hardline coalition in its history the final say in appointing judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by Netanyahu's allies, the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court's ability to review laws. The plan plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises, ripping open long-standing societal rifts and creating new ones. While the freeze in the legislation eased tensions somewhat, Netanyahu's allies are pushing him to move ahead on the overhaul. The talks underway, meant to forge a path out of the crisis, do not appear to have produced any results. Broad swaths of Israeli society, including leaders in business and the booming tech sector, have criticized the proposed changes. Military reservists threatened not to show up for duty if the plan was approved. Tens of thousands of people, largely secular, middle-class Israelis, have regularly joined mass protests against the plan.

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