More than 250,000 Israelis take to the streets across the country in protest of judicial overhaul

Protests enter their ninth week as legislation shows no sign of stopping

Protests in Israel against the coalition’s judicial reforms entered their ninth consecutive week over the weekend as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country. Some said a conservative estimate of 250,000 protestors were at the event, while organizers claimed as many as 400,000 participants.

While there were some reported clashes between protestors and police, and police used crowd-control measures, including water cannons, there were no major incidents. This contrasts with last Wednesday’s protests, in which several protestors were hurt and dozens more arrested.

Protestors managed to close off the central Ayalon Highway again on Saturday night, which led the police to bring in mounted officers, stun grenades and water cannons in an attempt to reopen the highway. Protest organizers condemned the use of stun grenades, saying the protestors had not behaved violently to warrant it.

Opposition Knesset Member and former Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman attended a protest rally for the first time since the protests began. He accused the coalition government of leading the country into chaos.

“I’m here as a person of the right, as a settler, as someone born into a Beitar home, and as someone who believes in the legacy of Herzl and Jabotinsky,” Liberman told the crowd.

“I have been in the political arena for many years, and I don’t remember a government ever simply causing chaos in the country within a couple of months and making all the citizens afraid.”

Israel also saw counter protests across the country, as some gathered in support of the judicial reforms.