The United States has started expressing support for Israelis calling for democracy amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans for a judicial overhaul.
For quite some time, American Jews have been reluctant to join demonstrations against the nation's plan to overhaul its judiciary. The efforts are seen as an attempt to diminish the judicial branch's independence.
US Supports Israelis Opposed to Judicial Overhaul
One attorney in New York, Beth Levine, grew worried over several months regarding the developments in Israel. The country's far-right government has made efforts that provoked massive protests and smaller ones in the US.
But recent developments, particularly the Israeli government passing the first judicial changes in July. It was a move that supportive ministers argued would eliminate an obstacle to the popular will.
Additionally, Israeli expatriates in New York, loosely organized under a grassroots group known as UnXeptable, planned a rally for this summer across the street from Israel's consulate in Midtown to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av. This is when practitioners commemorate the destruction of the ancient temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies, as per the New York Times.
Levine said that many of the worst things that happened on that particular holiday were because of "sinat chinam, " also known as baseless hate among Jews. This month is expected to have a lot of activity as organizers have staged rallies in dozens of cities worldwide on Sunday.
This was two days before Israel's Supreme Court was set to consider an appeal of the first overhaul law, including one in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington. Protesters from New York also plan to greet Netanyahu on Sept. 21, when he is set to speak at the United Nations General Assembly.
Additionally, a "democracy prayer" co-authored by a prominent American rabbi will be read at synagogues across the country for Rosh Hashana. This is the Jewish New Year festival, set to start on Friday evening.
Israel's Planned Changes
The appeal filed in Israel's Supreme Court comes after months of turmoil over the far-right government's plans to overhaul the judiciary and how its system works. According to BBC, the protests against the overhaul efforts involved tens of thousands of people crowding streets in towns and cities across Israel.
Undeterred by the widespread protests, the government passed the first planned change, called the "reasonableness" bill. This subsequently removed the power of the country's Supreme Court and lower courts to cancel government decisions deemed "extremely unreasonable."
The country's Supreme Court will convene on Tuesday its entire 15-judge bench for the first time in the history of Israel. They will hear appeals against the first overhaul bill that Netanyahu's government passed.
In a statement, David Leshem, a protester, said that Israel has always been a democratic country, noting that it is open and liberal. He noted that the government wants to change that status, arguing that he and the nation's people will not let that happen, said Reuters.
