Former PM Yair Lapid Joins Mass Rally Against Israel Govt
Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid activists protest against head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu and the elected government, in Tel Aviv, December 9, 2022. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90 *** Local Caption *** äôâðú äâùøéí âùø îôâéðéí ðâã áðéîéï ðúðéäå ãâìéí äùçåøéí äôâðä îîùìä éàéø ìôéã øàù äîîùìä áçéøåú
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday, with the former Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid joining them as anger grows over a number of contentious decisions made by the new administration.
Lapid tweeted, pledging to “not give up until we win:” People who love the state came to defend its democracy, its courts, the concept of a common life and a common good.
The protest on Saturday was the biggest one to date since Benjamin Netanyahu, Lapid’s successor and leader of the most right-wing administration in Israeli history, took office again last month.
According to Israeli media reports, about 100,000 protesters gathered in central Tel Aviv, covering the streets with blue and white flags. A number for the crowds was not immediately provided by the police.
The central Israeli demonstrator Karen Kol from Hod Hasharon said she was protesting “against the anti-democratic government that we have.”
The 51-year-old referenced modifications that Justice Minister Yariv Levin had put up earlier this month that would give elected officials more control over choosing judges.
Additionally, Levin envisions parliamentarians having the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings, which presently have the power to invalidate laws they deem to be discriminatory.
Givatayim resident Dov Gidony stated that he does not want to “let our government have complete control over our lives.”
The 33-year-old programmer claimed it was his first protest and that he felt the nation had come to “a point in history…without return.”
The LGBTQ community has expressed concern about the conservative social agenda of the government.
The new Israeli government, according to 16-year-old lesbian Ori Segelis, will “impact me severely.”
The youngster, from the adjacent city of Rehovot, who was standing next to her father and wearing a rainbow flag said, “I don’t think that will be beneficial for anybody and especially the gays.”
As several government ministers are passionate proponents of settlement expansion throughout the West Bank, the Tel Aviv event also drew opponents of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Unrestrained Attack
Following countrywide student protests and a demonstration by hundreds of attorneys outside a Tel Aviv court, there will be a large gathering on Saturday.
Esther Hayut, the head of the Supreme Court, has made rare public criticism of the judicial reform, calling it a “unbridled attack” earlier this month.
This week, Israel’s highest court decided a key minister must resign owing to a recent tax evasion conviction, further straining already strained ties between the government and the courts.
The Supreme Court found Aryeh Deri’s appointment as health and interior minister, which came just months after he was punished and gave up his Knesset seat, to be “very unfair.”
Netanyahu criticized the court’s ruling but has not yet made any firm announcements.
Meanwhile, the premier’s legal issues persist in a Jerusalem courtroom where he is defending himself against corruption allegations.
In 2019, when he became the first Israeli prime minister in office to be prosecuted, Netanyahu refused to resign.
After the 2021 elections, he was ousted as prime minister, but with the support of Jewish allies from the extreme right and ultra-Orthodoxy, he won back the position in the November elections.
