Thousands of Israeli residents took to the streets on Monday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government's plans for "judicial reforms."
Officials traded insults with other lawmakers over the plans to overhaul the country's judiciary. Israel President Isaac Herzog warned that the nation is already on the brink of "constitutional collapse."
Israeli Protesters Oppose Judicial Reforms
The planned judiciary reforms would give Netanyahu, a right-wing lawmaker, even greater control of government appointments to the bench and weaken the ability of the Supreme Court to strike down legislation or rule against the executive. These proposals have angered citizens and sparked national protests.
The Knesset Constitution Committee voted on Monday to send the first chapter of the proposal to the plenum to start a first reading. The decision was made after a chaotic start to the meeting where several Israeli lawmakers were forcibly thrown out to shouts of "shame, shame."
Lawmakers could be heard trading calls of "fascist" and "traitor" as some could be heard singing folk songs and others could be seen crying inside the Knesset. Amid that unprecedented situation, thousands of protesters gathered outside the establishment, per Reuters.
The prime minister, who is currently on trial over corruption charges that he has continuously denied, argues that the overhaul is needed to restore balance to the system. He added that the reforms are crucial in curbing activist judges who he claims have overreached their powers to interfere in the political sphere.
In a statement, Netanyahu said that he was calling on the heads of the opposition to stop deliberately dragging Israel down into anarchy. He added that most of the country's population does not want anarchy and instead wishes for a substantive discourse and unity.
However, the proposals have exposed a wide gap within Israel's society, pitting the economic establishment and more liberal parts of the nation against Netanyahu's supporters and the prime minister's right-wing religious and nationalist coalition allies.
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Benjamin Netanyahu's Proposed Judicial Reforms
The recent demonstration, considered one of the largest protests in the history of Israel, involved more than 80,000 residents that spoke out against Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms. According to Fox News, the protest was joined by several other demonstrations in other parts of the country.
The protesters marched and gathered outside of the Knesset, holding flags and chanting "democracy" and "no to dictatorship." The reforms will also allow the government to appoint the president and vice president of the Supreme Court. Both would need to have served on the court previously or even served as a lower court judge.
Pictures on TV revealed how some demonstrators were even dressed as handmaids from the book 'The Handmaid's Tale.' They wore long red dresses that had white head coverings.
Despite the protests and President Herzog's pleas, the government started introducing the reform bill in parliament on Monday. The Israeli president added that the country could face a "violent collision." The remarks came as some lawmakers jumped over tables to shout at coalition members before they were taken away by security personnel, said CNN.
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