Protesters blocked roads across Israel on Tuesday to oppose the government’s new effort to curb the power of the country’s courts, in what organisers called a “day of disruption”.
The demonstrations, including a protest at the country’s main airport, cut off important transportation routes, harking back to extensive protests in March that paralysed the nation and forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the effort to overhaul the justice system.
Thousands gathered outside the US embassy branch in Tel Aviv, blowing whistles, playing drums and waving Israeli and American flags, as protesters look increasingly at the Biden administration as an ally in opposing the overhaul in the wake of comments by Joe Biden calling for Mr Netanyahu to slow the legislation down and seek compromise.
“They need to know how important it is for us to have their support, and to keep democracy alive in Israel,” said Susan Burger, 64, an American-Israeli retiree in Tel Aviv.
“The larger protests get, I think Bibi will have to back down.”
Companies across the country gave employees the option to take the day off to join the protests, and avoid the chaotic commutes that the disruptions were causing.
Police said they arrested at least 71 people for disturbing public order, 45 of whom were released, and authorities deployed water cannons against demonstrators blocking streets.
Read the article by Dov Lieber in The Australian (from The Wall Street Journal).