Hundreds Of Israelis Gather For Another Protest Against Judicial Reform - Reports

TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) Reservists of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are protesting against their government's controversial judicial reform in front of the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in front of the museum, where Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf are supposed to take part in a conference later in the day, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The protesters reportedly hung a large copy of the Israeli Declaration of Independence from the roof of the museum; they also intend to hold a march led by retired IDF artillery officers.

Several groups of reservists from various IDF branches have participated in the mass protests against the judicial reform put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration that have been taking place for eleven weeks.

On Tuesday, a group of protesters known as the "Brothers in Arms" announced they were collecting signatures under a refusal to serve in the event the government goes ahead with the judicial reform.

In January, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin rolled out a legal reform package that would limit the authority of the Supreme Court by giving the cabinet control over the selection of new judges, as well as allowing the Knesset to override the court's rulings with an absolute majority. In mid-February, the Israeli parliament approved the first part of the legislation. The second half was approved by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, at the beginning of March.

The reform's opponents argue it will undermine democracy in Israel and put the country on the verge of a social and constitutional crisis.