Extensive protests across Israel for 28th week, another ‘Day of Disruption’ planned ahead of reasonableness vote

As the Reasonableness Standard Bill is set to receive its final form in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee this week, protests intensified across Israel.

Protest leaders estimated that around 385,000 people took part in demonstrations across the Jewish state on Saturday evening for the 28th week of protests against the coalition’s judicial reforms.

Some190,000 protesters gathered in Tel Aviv for the main protest event.

Roy Neumann, one of the protest leaders said on Israeli radio 103FM that protest leaders are planning more “Days of Disruption.”

“We wanted to create a sequence of days of protest until the legislation itself, starting from Tuesday and continuing until Saturday,” he said. “We will be on the streets every day, evenings and days. Unlike others, I believe that this legislation must be stopped – if citizens come out and protest, the legislation can be stopped.”

Neumann also said that protest leaders are trying to get the chair of the Histadrut labor union involved.

“We already started demonstrating next to Arnon Bar-David, a week ago. He must intervene, he also said that if the situation reaches an extreme situation, he will intervene.”

When asked whether the protestors were planning to enter the Knesset in a Jan. 6-style event, referring to the riots during the U.S. Capitol attack, Neumann replied, “No. We are protesting, but not violently.”

With Tisha B'Av approaching, the date commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, several protest leaders referred to the judicial reforms as “the destruction of the Temple.”

"The role of the struggle is to stand up to the government of the destruction of the Temple and their unconstitutional laws," said Shikma Bressler, one of the protest leaders, at the Tel Aviv protest.

Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech at the protest in Jerusalem.

“We wish you complete healing, but return the country to sanity,” Ya’alon said.

Former Justice Minister Dan Meridor, also a former Likud party member, accused the coalition government of changing the country.

“They want a different country. Instead of Zionist, racist. Instead of gatekeepers, political appointments. The danger is here and now. We will struggle until we win,” Meridor told the crowd in Tel Aviv.  

Protest leaders are planning another “Day of Disruption” for Monday but said they will increase protest events even further before the third, final Knesset vote on the highly-disputed bill, which has already passed its first reading.