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80,000 protesters in Tel Aviv slam Israeli gov’t; Netanyahu’s cousin invokes Nazi comparison

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz urged “left-wing and right-wing” people to join the protests.

By World Israel News Staff

More than 80,000 demonstrators gathered at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square to protest the government on Saturday evening, with police turning away arriving protesters because of a gridlock.

Smaller protests took place at the same time in Jerusalem and Haifa.

“No democracy without the High Court,” protesters chanted in opposition to Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial reform.

Levin’s judicial overhaul includes an “override clause” which would allow the Knesset to re-legislate laws that the Supreme Court had struck down, pending a 61-MK majority.

Changes to the manner in which justices are chosen, reducing unelected legal advisors’ ability to influence government decisions, and clearly defining under which circumstances the court is allowed to intervene in legislative matters are also part of the potential reform.

Dan Netanyahu, a first cousin of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, said his late mother who had served as a High Court judge would have objected to the government’s proposed judicial reforms.

He also accused compared his cousin’s reforms to methods that Nazi Germany employed, starting in 1933, that allowed Hitler to overcome legal barriers to his evil plan.

Blue and White leader and former defense minister MK Benny Gantz arrived the protest flanked by security guards and police officers.

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Gantz on Friday urged people from “the left and the right” to come out in protest.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak also joined the protest, according to Israeli media reports.