Thousands Rally in Tel Aviv against New Government

On Saturday night, thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest against the new government.

This was after plans of the overhaul of the Israeli judicial system were unveiled by Justice Minister Yariv Levin earlier this week.

The protest

Organizers said that more than 10,000 protestors had gathered for the rally at the Habima Square of the coastal city.

Some of the demonstrators that were affiliated with Standing Together and other organizations affiliated with the left-wing opted to march towards the Tel Aviv Museum of Art for holding a rally there.

As far as the other protestors are concerned, they participated in a torchlight march in the streets of Tel Aviv.

The protest was advertised by the organizers to those who were not in favor of the coup d’etat that the criminal government had carried out and was threatening to harm the citizens.

A controversial package of legal forms had been announced by Justice Minister Yeriv Levin on Wednesday, which would limit the High Court of Justice’s authority drasticially.

The government would have control over the judicial selection and the attorney general’s legal advisers for ministry would be eliminated.

The High Court of Justice will have limited authority to block government decisions considered undemocratic, or discriminatory, as well as legislation.

The problems

On Saturday, a joint statement was issued by the protest group ‘Crime Minister’ and Standing Together in which they said that the new government had dangerous and extreme elements trying to harm everyone.

They also accused the coalition of discriminating on the basis of sexuality and gender and targeting Arabs.

The statement said that they were not going to sit at home and get frustrated. It said that they would continue struggling for their home.

Before the new government was sworn in, coalition agreements had been signed, which included legislation for allowing service providers to refuse service in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Critics believe that this initiative would legalize discrimination against targeted sectors, such as Arabs and LGBTQ people.

More details

The leaders of Breaking the Silence, Avner Gvaryahu and Yael Lotan, spoke to the protestors on Saturday.

They informed that they had set up a new democratic camp that would include everyone, from LGBTQ people to straight, men and women, Arabs and Jews as well as religious and secular people.

The heads said that they stand united against the new government and added that human rights were not just for Jews, but also for Arabs, including non-citizens living in areas that were captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

According to reports, some Tel Aviv protestors called Netanyahu racist, corrupt and dangerous. The rally was attended by a number of MKs, including Labor party’s Gilad Kariv and Merav Michaeli.

Tzipi Livni, a former minister, also attended the rally and delivered a speech. The chair of the Hadash-Ta’al alliance, Aymen Odeh, was also in attendance.

He alleged on Twitter that after delivering a speech at the rally, he had been physically and verbally attacked.