Lapid at protests: ‘If you hadn’t taken to the streets, Israel would no longer be democratic’

An estimated 150,000 took part in the Tel Aviv protest for the 16th consecutive Saturday.

By World Israel News Staff

Tens of thousands of people protested in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities against the government’s judicial reform plans for the 16th consecutive Saturday, with members of bereaved families lighting candles in memory of fallen soldiers ahead of Memorial Day.

The protests have been ongoing despite the government’s announcement earlier this month suspending the legislation until after May.

“The public understands that the sword of the dictatorship is still on its neck, threatening to destroy everything we built,” protest organizers said.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid spoke at a rally in Hod Hasharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

“This week, between Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day, is the week of Israeliness. On Tuesday we will remember that we are the only country in the world where between the saddest day and the happiest day, there are exactly sixty seconds.

“If you hadn’t taken to the streets, the disaster would have already happened. Israel would no longer be democratic,” he said.

“One day you will tell this to your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren about how in 2023, you marched through the streets wrapped in a flag and saved the State of Israel. How before Independence Day, you fought for your country, you fought and won.”