600,000 Israeli protesters take to the streets; ‘Week of paralysis’ planned as Passover approaches

Demonstrators set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Protesters called for a “week of paralysis” starting Sunday to wreak havoc during the days leading up to the Passover holiday.

By World Israel News Staff

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel on Saturday night for the twelfth week in a row, to protest against the government’s controversial plan to reform the country’s left-leaning judiciary.

While Tel Aviv, as usual, held the largest protest with an estimated 200,000 protesters, other major Israeli cities saw record turnouts.

Protest organizers claimed that more than 630,000 people attended the rallies, but that number has not been verified elsewhere.

A few hundred protesters at the protest in Tel Aviv broke through a barrier and ran onto the Ayalon highway in a bid to block traffic and some lit fires. 28 people were arrested and police deployed a water cannon against protesters.

Protesters called for a “week of paralysis” starting Sunday to wreak havoc during the days leading up to the Passover holiday.

A giant poster featuring former president Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hovered over the protesters’ heads with the slogan, “Arrest them.”

More than a thousand protesters, led by a group representing reservist soldiers, demonstrated outside Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s home.

However, later on, Gallant called on Netanyahu to halt the- reform legislation in a televised address, saying it harmed Israel’s security.

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