West Jerusalem – As Israelis wake up from a tumultuous night of protests and an evening speech by the Prime Minister, many of them are adamant that the protests will continue until they meet their demands.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night announced a pause in his controversial judicial reforms to “enable dialogue” and avoid “civil war” — a day after one of the largest protests in Israel’s history he succumbed to mounting pressure from his government. own coalition.
The proposed changes would remove the Supreme Court’s ability to declare laws unconstitutional and would give the government greater say in the selection of judges, proposals that angered many in Israel.
People had been protesting the proposed “reforms” for months, but after news that Netanyahu had fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant a day after the latter called for the process to be halted, tens of thousands gathered in the streets in a show of spontaneous anger.
Netanyahu portrayed the protesters as extremists and portrayed his capitulation to the opposition in terms of the biblical character King Solomon, famous for his wisdom and tolerance.
“I am not ready to tear the country apart,” Netanyahu announced, referring to the growing rift between leading members of the military and his own government. “It is forbidden that there should be a civil war”.
Business as usual in the Supreme Court as protests against proposed judicial ‘reforms’ continue outside (Eliyahu Freedman/Al Jazeera)
A stone’s throw from the Prime Minister’s office where Netanyahu was speaking, business had previously continued as usual in Israel’s fortified Supreme Court, while Israeli civil society froze for the day.
When the major Histadrut trade union federation announced a “historic strike”, departing flights at Ben Gurion Airport were halted for a day, as were universities, shopping malls and many other institutions across the country.
Early Tuesday morning, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the government and opposition to begin an “immediate process of negotiations” to find a compromise on the proposed judicial “reform”.
Growing dissent in the ranks
Netanyahu’s plan was temporarily foiled due to growing dissent among members of his own party and increased resistance from the Israeli military reserves who refused to serve.
As dissent within Netanayahu’s ranks has been quietly growing for weeks, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was the first to formally break rank on Saturday night, leading to his early dismissal on Sunday evening. Gallant’s resignation proved to be the final straw, as Netanyahu vowed on the correctness of his path and his intention to continue pushing for judicial “reform”.
Israeli society, which sees its mandatory civilian army as essential to protecting the country from imminent disaster, proved extremely sensitive to the resignation of a defense minister — especially in the current circumstances and with the perception of Netanyahu’s selfish political motive.
“Netanyahu has traditionally been seen as a supporter of the Supreme Court, which just three years ago spoke of the importance of an independent judiciary,” explained Eli Kowaz, policy adviser at the Israel Policy Forum. Many consider his motivation fundamental “to escape his legal conundrum and three charges”.
Gallant’s resignation, which sparked spontaneous protests across the country late Monday, marked the point of no return for the embattled prime minister and his fragile coalition of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties. People saw it as Netanyahu willingly jeopardizing the country’s military preparedness for his own political ends.
Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant speaks at Ben Gurion Airport on March 9, 2023 (Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo)
Gallant had spoken out after increasing unrest within the military – particularly the country’s reserve forces – saying it had exposed potential weaknesses that could be exploited by the country’s enemies. Refusal to serve in the Israeli army reserves is seen as “taboo and shocking” to Israelis, according to Tal Sagi of Breaking the Silence, a group of ex-Israeli army soldiers and members of the anti-occupation bloc.
“In Israeli society, serving in the army is your application to fit in and more. It is something you want to do to give back to your society and provide for your family and community.
Sagi explains how the anti-occupation bloc has felt increasing acceptance by other anti-judicial reform protesters as protests have progressed in recent months, especially since the Huwara pogrom.
“In the beginning, in the anti-occupation bloc, there were many attacks against people holding Palestinian flags. Now I see less and less violence. It’s like the protest became more comfortable with the flag being there.”
While the protests on Sunday evening and throughout Monday were essentially about the safety of Israelis and their legal rights under attack from a strong leader, the anti-occupation bloc took the opportunity to mobilize the thousands of Israelis outraged by Netanyahu and his coalition, to teach. .
Gallant’s firing sparked protests across the country late into Monday (Azucena Mezona/Al Jazeera)
Anti-occupation protester Jacob Abolafia explained that “over the course of three months, and especially after the pogrom in Huwara, the realization is growing that what is going on in the occupation, the occupied territories and the Israeli streets are connected.
“You’d hear at least 10,000 people chant, ‘Where were you in Hawara?'”
After hearing his speech, Kowaz predicted that Netanyahu would succumb to his right-wing coalition partners and said the protest movement would continue until the proposed changes were completely quashed.
“Netanyahu gave the Ben Gvir faction a gift,” he said, referring to the creation of an ambiguous “citizen national force” led by the hardline lawmaker to convince him not to leave the coalition. “I think the protests will continue, maybe not with the same number, but more on a weekly basis.”
Overnight, far-right protesters who were on the streets in support of Netanyahu and the judicial “reforms” faced the anti-judicial change protesters, threatening them and causing clashes in some places.
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