After chaotic protests last week, anti-judicial reform protesters vow to up the ante and cause mass disruption. The prime minister may need to fly to the airport via helicopter to avoid protesters on the ground.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Opponents of the reforms to Israel’s judicial systems have organized a second “Day of Disruption” for Thursday, a week after tens of thousands of demonstrators snarled traffic and clashed with police throughout the country.
According to statements from various activist groups, Thursday is intended to be a “a day of resistance to the dictatorship, during which traffic in Israel will be disrupted: in the air, at sea, and on land.”
However, the groups added that their activities this week may encompass more than the previous protest, which saw demonstrators surrounding the homes of MKs, blocking major thoroughfares and highways, preventing trains and buses from running normally, and more.
After mentioning planned rallies in Tel Aviv and the Knesset in Jerusalem, the organizers characterized these as “initial events that can be revealed to media at the moment,” but that there will be “many surprises” in store for Thursday.
The groups pledged to “increase the efforts of the struggle with new means.”
On Wednesday, in what was perhaps a preview of the activities planned for Thursday, some 20 protesters glued themselves to the floor of a building in Tel Aviv which has numerous government ministries, including the Interior Ministry and Tax Authority.
Organizers are urging protesters to use car convoys to block Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s route to Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday morning. The Israeli premier is due to depart for a state visit to Italy and may need to take a helicopter to the airport in order to avoid the protests, according to Hebrew-language reports.
Netanyahu’s trip has already faced logistical challenges. Numerous El Al pilots initially refused to fly the premier as an act of protest against the judicial reform. Eventually, a pilot willing to fly the prime minister and his wife to Rome was found.