Thousands March in Tel Aviv despite Pause in Judicial Overhaul

On Tuesday, around 3,000 protestors came out to march in Tel Aviv against the judicial overhaul proposals of the government, even though the premier had agreed to pause the legislative process a day earlier.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that they would halt the legislative process.

The protest

Even though the protest on Tuesday was significantly smaller than the ones seen in the city in the last 12 weeks, protest organizers said that it was because demonstrators had some concerns.

They were worried that the legislative process had only been suspended by the prime minister as a ruse to stifle the protests and they would resume it in a couple of weeks.

They also said that the protest was held over the agreement between the premier and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

This involves plans of forming a ‘national guard’ force, which would be under the director control of the far-right minister.

The march began at 4 p.m. in Tel Aviv from the Kirya military headquarters before it ended up on Rothschild Boulevard.

A demonstration was also staged on Tuesday by another group named Paratroopers for Democracy, which saw hundreds gather in the coastal city of Netanya at Hasharon Junction.

More protest groups

Meanwhile, other protest groups had stated earlier that even though they were unsure of the intentions of the government, they would suspend their activities until a compromise can be reached.

The group leading the protests of the military reservists, Brothers in Arms, said that the legislative process had been halted for negotiations.

They said that they could not just believe words and that the government really intends to reach an agreement. They would only believe the actions they see.

In recent weeks, hundreds of military reservists and air force officers had joined the protests against the efforts of the hardline coalition to radically overhaul the judiciary.

They had declared they if the judicial overhaul legislation passed, they would not report for duty because the democratic regime in Israel would come to an end.

More details

The group said that they are the principle reserve volunteers and they have led the country every time in need.

Therefore, they had decided to give the negotiation process a chance for the people and due to national responsibility.

However, they added that they were prepared to resume their protests and would not hesitate in doing so if the time given for negotiation is used for damaging the democracy further.

Another protest group said that even though the legislative process had been paused, they would still continue their Saturday night protests in Tel Aviv.

Those leading the high-tech sector protests and the Movement for Quality Government in Israel said that they would continue their demonstrations until the government scraps its judicial overhaul plans in its entirety.

The announcement of a pause had come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for calling for a halt in the judicial overhaul process.