Protests forced Netanyahu to pause judicial reform

Large-scale protests paralyzed Israel. The largest airport in the country temporarily does not send flights, kindergartens, schools and shopping centers have stopped working. 600 thousand people gathered on the streets of cities.

Not only the prime minister’s chair and the political situation are under threat – the country’s army was left without a defense minister. Correspondent “Izvestia” Alexander Tuzikov will tell you how it can turn out.

Israel is rapidly slipping into chaos and civil war. A flurry of protests at all levels, hundreds of thousands of people are participating in them. And here is the result. According to Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to take a time out, he postponed the adoption of the law on judicial reform until the summer. Its essence is to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court and give the most right-wing government in the history of Israel to pass bills bypassing the veto of Israeli justice.

Netanyahu’s temporary retreat was caused by the intensity of the protests. Opponents of judicial reform block entry to Jerusalem.

Almost a hundred thousand opponents of the prime minister are ready to storm the building of the Knesset – the country’s parliament. But the reformists are also ready for battle. Jerusalem today is the capital of unrest, tens of thousands of those who voted for Bibi (as Benjamin Netanyahu is called) gather. The police have so far managed to separate the warring parties, mass detentions of rioters have begun.

The army is neutral for now, but only for now. After Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant for criticizing his reforms, the government fears a riot among soldiers and officers.

IDF Commander-in-Chief Herzi Ha-Levi even sent out a written appeal to the military and reservists, urging them to “show responsibility”: “Let our enemies know that we are all on guard and no one leaves his post.”

And the opposition directly addresses both the army and the authorities at all levels – support the protests.

“Sane ministers and parliamentarians must stop this madness that Netanyahu is doing. In the pitch darkness of recent months, a remarkable event has taken place: the liberal camp has woken up. We won’t be pressed anymore. What happened on the streets of Israel these weeks will go down in history as the greatest display of patriotism in the history of the country.“, – said former Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

“The first to suffer from judicial reform will be us women. Israeli democracy will turn into a dictatorship. Religious courts will get more power, and they have always neglected the rights of women“, says protester Hila Morzehani.

The strike paralyzed Ben Gurion International Airport. The post office joined the protest. The trade union of hotel chains is preparing for the knockout. Doctors are on strike, the union of doctors has suspended the work of the entire healthcare system until the authorities announce the abolition of judicial reform.

The Joe Biden administration urged Netanyahu to find a compromise with the demonstrators, although Israel did not ask to interfere in his internal affairs. And, according to a source in Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister is considering plan B – to call a referendum on judicial reform.

The prime minister was left virtually no choice. The Federation of Labor has threatened him since Wednesday with a “strike of historic proportions.” Against this background, the shares of leading Israeli companies are falling, and the economy is suffering huge losses.