Thousands of Israelis protest against Netanyahu’s new government | News about Benjamin Netanyahu
Crowds protested against Mr. Netanyahu’s plan to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and weaken Israel’s Supreme Court.
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuof the new government that they say threatens democracy and liberties.
Protesters gathered in the city of Tel Aviv on Saturday, days after the most religiously conservative and right-wing government in the country’s 74-year history was sworn in. powers of the judiciary.
Protesters held up banners with slogans including “Democracy in danger” and “Together against fascism and racism”.
Another banner reads “House, Livelihood, Hope.” Some protesters carried rainbow flags.
The protest was led by leftist and Palestinian members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
They criticized Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who on Wednesday announced plans to overhaul the justice system that the government has long promised to aim for. weaken the country’s Supreme Court.
Critics accuse the government of declaring war on the rule of law, saying the plan would overturn Israel’s system of checks and balances and undermine its democratic institutions by giving away Israel’s democratic institutions. absolute power for the new ruling coalition.
Danny Simon, 77, a protester from Yavne, in the south, said: “We are really afraid that our country will lose democracy and we will become a dictatorship just for the sake of reason. of a person who wishes to escape his or her legal judgment. by Tel Aviv.
He was referring to Netanyahu, who was indicted on corruption charges in 2021, charges the prime minister has denied.
Mr. Netanyahu, 73, has served as prime minister longer than anyone in Israel’s history, leading the country from 1996-1999 and 2009-2021. His new government includes a politician who late last year admitted to tax evasion as well as some far-right personalitiessuch as one who once kept a portrait in the home of a man who massacred dozens of Palestinian believers.
Saturday’s protesters also called for peace and coexistence between the country’s Jews and Palestinian residents.
Rula Daood of Standing Together, a grassroots Palestinian and Jewish movement, said: “Right now, we can see many laws being advocated against LGBTQ, against Palestinians, against the larger minorities in Israel.
“We are here to say loud and clear that all of us, Arabs and Jews and other communities within Israel, demand peace, equality and justice.”
