On Saturday evening, protest demonstrations against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and its plan to weaken the judicial system were renewed for the 36th week in a row, days before the start of the Supreme Court sessions to consider petitions against the law “Abolishing the Reasonableness Argument”.
Demonstrations took place in dozens of areas, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Rehovot, Kfar Saba, and Herzliya.
Tens of thousands participated in the central demonstration on Kaplan Street in central Tel Aviv.
A massive demonstration was also organized at the Horev Junction in Haifa, the Karkur Junction near Pardes Hanna, and the Karmiel Junction.
Next Tuesday, September 12, the Israeli Supreme Court will hold its first session to consider petitions against the law repealing the argument of reasonableness, with a judicial panel that includes all 15 judges of the court, after it rejected several petitions submitted by the government to postpone the session.
On July 24, the Israeli Knesset voted, in the second and third readings, on a draft law abolishing the reasonableness argument, thus making it an effective law despite widespread internal objections.
The law would prevent Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court, from applying what is known as the “reasonableness standard” to decisions made by elected officials.
The law to abolish the argument of reasonableness is one of 8 draft laws proposed by the Israeli government as part of its plan to “weaken the judiciary”.
The Netanyahu government seeks to make radical amendments to the legal and judicial systems, almost completely eliminating the authority of the Supreme Court for judicial review, and giving the government an automatic majority in the judge selection committee, which a wide segment of Israelis sees as targeting democracy and undermining the judicial system.
Since the plan was announced in early January, tens of thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating weekly to denounce the government formed by Netanyahu in December and its plan to weaken the judiciary system in Israel.
