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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| ‘Day of Equality’ sought to revitalize protests; limited turnout underlines challenge |
| 2023-05-07 |
| [IsraelTimes] Demonstrations against Haredi military exemptions, religious and gender inequality were an effort to restore momentum of anti-overhaul movement, but public’s response was muted. For two days at the end of March, the rising swell of protests against the government’s radical judicial overhaul program broke into a huge wave that swept everything aside. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister for stating publicly that the reforms were damaging the cohesion of the Israel Defense Forces and must be halted, masses of Israelis rose up at night, blocked highways, set fires and besieged the prime minister’s residence. The next day, the protests spawned mass strikes including at seaports and Ben Gurion Airport, large parts of the country came to a standstill, and a huge demonstration was staged outside the Knesset to make clear to the politicians inside exactly what was at stake. The culmination of these events was Netanyahu’s decision to suspend pending legislation designed to give the government almost complete control over judicial appointments, in order to allow time for negotiations with the opposition over the reforms. This was the high-water mark, so far, for the protest movement. Weekend rallies around the country have continued to draw hundreds of thousands out into the streets, but with the legislative freeze, the Knesset Passover recess, and the ongoing negotiations, the ardor of the campaign has naturally waned to a degree. Even now, with the Knesset back in session, the government is chiefly preoccupied with passing a budget before the May 29 deadline to prevent the automatic dissolution of the Knesset and new elections, among other political problems. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |