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In show of force, 200,000 urge gov’t not to abandon overhaul amid compromise talks

- THE TIMES OF ISRAEL - LAZAR BERMAN and TOI STAFF - APRIL 28, 2023 -

Participants at right-wing rally claim coalition’s bid to weaken judiciary represents the silenced will of the people; Levin: Charge that these reforms spell dictatorship is a lie

Right-wing Israelis attend a rally in support of plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem on April 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Masses of supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government packed the streets around the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday evening, staging by far their largest rally yet aimed at providing the coalition with public support for its plans to radically overhaul the judiciary, in light of widespread opposition at home and abroad.


There was no official headcount from police, but estimates by news networks — citing figures by firms that specialize in estimating crowd sizes — generally ranged between 150,000 and 200,000 people in attendance at the rally, dubbed ahead of time by organizers as the “March of the Million.” Around 1,000 buses were dispatched across the country to ferry participants to the rally, Channel 12 news reported, claiming that Netanyahu’s Likud party and the far-right Religious Zionism had invested hundreds of thousands of shekels in the event’s organization.


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The crowd size appeared to be similar to the turnout at Saturday night rallies against the effort to curb the powers of the High Court of Justice, which have been taking place on a weekly basis for the nearly four months of the current government’s existence.


On Thursday, the pro-overhaul crowd tilted noticeably toward younger religious Israelis, with a significant percentage below the voting age, and many of the buses bringing supporters from West Bank settlements. Many participants carried the national flag, which has been widely adopted by demonstrators at the anti-overhaul protests.


While Thursday’s was the first rally of this magnitude by pro-overhaul activists, organizers sought to demonstrate that they represent the majority opinion on the issue, pointing to the overhaul efforts as an extension of the pro-Netanyahu bloc’s convincing victory in the November 1 Knesset election, which allowed the Likud leader to form a homogenous, 64-strong coalition in the 120-member parliament.


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LEIA MAIS >
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-show-of-force-200000-urge-govt-not-to-abandon-overhaul-amid-compromise-talks/


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