Israeli police estimate that around 600,000 demonstrators from all over the country participated at Sunday’s rally in support of the judicial reform. The slogan of the evening was “The people demand judicial reform.”
The rally was held in Jerusalem in front of the Knesset. Due to the huge number of attendees, the rally was spread out over all the outlying streets and intersections with massive billboard screens scattered throughout the area so that attendees could view the speakers.
The rally took place after the anti-judicial reform rallies scared Netanyahu into stopping the legislative process for the judicial reform before the Passover recess. Since, talks are ongoing between the coalition and opposition at the President’s residence.
The majority Jewish population that voted for this government to enact judicial reform felt that it must show the politicians that they have full backing to move forward with the judicial reform, as that is what the public voted for.
A police source says that this is the largest demonstration that has taken place in Jerusalem in recent months, much larger than any of the anti-judicial reform protests.
One of the organizers of the rally, MK Amichai Bauron, opened up the rally saying that “we have embarked on a new path and we will not stop it until we return freedom to the people of Israel.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin at the demonstration: “I will do everything in my power to pass the legal reform.”
“This evening is an evening of great outcry. The people voted for legal reform. We were elected with 64 mandates. We no longer will allow a one-party justice system, nor a court disconnected from the people. My dear friends, since I introduced the reform, a change has occurred. Many people now understand the need for judicial reform. We want a court for everyone, right and left. We want a court that protects the rights of the elderly woman in south Tel Aviv, and not for the rights of illegal migrants who abuse her, we want a court that protects the lives of IDF soldiers and not the lives of the Palestinian Arabs.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “The people want legal reform and they will get legal reform. We will not give up on making the State of Israel a good place to live. We will not give up on Israeli democracy. We will not give up on our beloved country. We will not give up on the IDF. We will not accept insubordination from IDF soldiers. We will continue to build and grow stronger. We will build the settlements, we will build Zionism. We will strengthen the periphery. We will restore faith in the righteousness of the way. We will build the State of Israel.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said: “It is important that we remember that the anti-reform group is a small handful and we must not let them steal the show. We must not break down, we must not give in, we must move forward with our truth, with our decisions. We should embrace all the people of Israel - but be determined in moving forward with our direction. We want to fully govern - we want reform now.”
MK Simcha Rothman, Chairman of the Constitution Committee, said: “The people tell us that we must not give up. This is an opportunity now that will only last for four years. The road is not that long. It is no secret that reforming the justice system is my life’s task and I deal with it all day long. This is the issue of the soul of the national camp and if we give up now, we will give up more and more, we must not give up.”
Nobel Prize winner Professor Israel Auman, leading a whole delegation of Academics, spoke during the rally as well and said: “We came to protest against the dictatorship of an unelected elite minority of people who impose their position on the public. This requires legal reform.”
After the rally, I spoke with Oren Henig of Merkaz Liba, one of the organizations that organized the rally. Merkaz Liba has done extensive research on the impact that the Supreme Court has had on weakening the Jewish character of the state of Israel and Israel’s ability to defend itself properly militarily.
Henig said that “Seeing hundreds of thousands of people showing up to support the judicial reform shows the rally was a huge success. Many people in Israel today understand that the judicial reform is important because it touches upon the identity of the State of Israel. For decades the justice system has involved itself in ruling on issues that are connected with the Jewish values of Israeli society, yet have nothing to do with the law. People no longer want to see this judicial overreach that consistently overrides the democratic system and the votes of Israeli citizens. For decades we vote for governments to protect the Jewish values of our society and to protect the lives of Israeli citizens. However, the justice system has replaced the role of the Executive and Legislative branches with judgements that consistently erode the Jewish values of Israeli society and instead protects the rights of terrorists and their families over the right of Israelis to live and be protected.”
It is due to this situation that all types of Israelis from all over the country attended this rally. Some came all the way from the Golan Heights in the North and others even from Eilat down in the South.
Why? Because it has been an extremely frustrating three months feeling that our voices are not just being ignored, but considered worthless. We have witnessed a democratically elected government capitulate and stop a judicial reform, that we all voted for, due to a campaign based on lies that has successfully triggered people’s emotions.
I personally attended the rally this evening. Why did I attend? Because as someone who has been following the creeping judicial overreach into all areas of Israeli governance, I understand that this judicial reform is necessary for Israel to achieve true justice and democracy with an end to the judicial overreach that nullifies the voice of the majority Jewish population in Israel that continuously votes for proud Jewish policies, but instead receives creeping progressive agenda that bulldozes our traditional Jewish values.
What was so beautiful was hearing songs being sung like this one: “The one above is King!!” And chants like “The people want a Jewish state!” Why? Because people understand that that is what the protest movement is about, ensuring we stay a Jewish state, unlike the un-Jewish state that the tiny elite are trying to create by controlling the justice system. The protest is not actually about judicial reform.
Overall, it was a very powerful rally!
We experienced the Jewish people coming together, united and coming alive, after three months of feeling that the rug was being pulled from under our legs!!
They thought that their protest movement would kill our spirits. Yet, it has done the opposite. They have brought to life a mass movement of proud Israeli Jews who finally understand that that elite minority control everything and will do everything to destroy the Jewish state of Israel.
This rally represented the many Jews in Israel who are waking up in large numbers to not allow that to happen.
I was very encouraged by the rally.
The question is: Did it do enough to help the Likud Party pressure the three/four troublemakers who were buckling under the pressure of the leftist protest movement. Will the rally give them the understanding that they should stop voicing objection to the reform and vote with the government to pass it, when it comes up for a vote. Why? Because the public that voted for them wants them to do it.
By Avi Abelow
