From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thousands of Israelis take part in multiday protest march

(i24) Despite a heatwave, tens of thousands of demonstrators are marching toward the Knesset, culminating in a protest on Saturday evening

 Tens of thousands of Israelis are participating in a multiday march from Tel Aviv, set to reach the Israeli Parliament, Knesset, by Saturday evening where a largescale protest is scheduled to take place.

Despite temperatures soaring over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, an estimated 20,000 people make up the march, that extends over a mile, along the highway Route 1 into Israel’s capital.

The march started with just a handful of people who set out from Tel Aviv on Tuesday following a “Day of National Resistance,” a signature part of the protest movement against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul. They have amassed supporters along the way, with thousands joining for the last leg of the trip up to the capital.

The huge number of people walking along the highway has inevitably slowed traffic, with hundreds of cars abandoned along the shoulder as their drivers joined the progression. Tens of thousands of people are expected to show up for protests outside the Knesset and the Prime Minister’s Residence on Saturday evening, with hundreds of thousands of Israelis expected to protest in Tel Aviv and other major cities across Israel.

Protesters are expected to set up a tent city in Jerusalem’s Gan Sacher, near the Knesset building, for an indefinite amount of time, as the legislation progresses.

Yonatan Sindel / Flash90
Yonatan Sindel / Flash90Demonstrators wave Israeli flags as they march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to protest against the government’s judicial reform plan.
The reasonableness bill, which would limit the Israeli judiciary’s ability to overrule government decisions based on a “reasonableness standard,” is set to pass the second and third readings on Sunday.

The measure is the first major part of the government’s judicial reform plan, which has sparked mass protests and international concern over the balance of power in the Israeli government.

On Friday, over 1,100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) reservists issued a letter announcing the suspension of their volunteer service in protest of the planned reforms. In the letter addressed to senior ministers and the IDF Chief of Staff, they wrote:

“Legislation that allows the government to act in an extremely unreasonable manner will harm the security of the State of Israel, will cause a loss of trust, and a violation of my consent to continue risking my life, and will lead, with deep sorrow and no choice, to suspending my volunteer reserve duty.”

They called on the government to “reach broad agreements” on the judicial reforms. Many reservists have been warning in recent months they will not serve in protest of the judicial overhaul – charging that it would make Israel an undemocratic state – as IDF officials have said the growing phenomenon could affect national readiness against regional enemies.

It drew a response from Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, with the defense ministry saying he is “taking measures in order to reach a wide consensus and ensure the security of the State of Israel, while leaving the IDF separate from political discourse.”

On Thursday, Netanyahu addressed the public, saying that while he has continually sought a compromise with the opposition, denying that government is rushing to pass parts of the judicial reform.

He also slammed protest movement leaders inciting reservists to refuse their military service, alleging that they endanger Israel’s democracy and its security, adding that “the hand that makes a decision is not the hand that holds the weapon, it’s the hand that votes during elections.”