Thousands of people carrying flags and signs marched on a Tel
Aviv thoroughfare stopping traffic in the middle of the workday.
A small group burned tires in the street outside a seaport,
briefly blocking trucks. Police forced demonstrators from the
road in front of a conference center in central Israel.
The protests have escalated since the start of the year when
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government
introduced new legislation that would limit the authority of the
Supreme Court.
The plan has stirred concern for Israel's democratic health at
home and abroad. Military reservists have joined the protests
and senior officials in the Finance Ministry warned this week of
an economic backlash.
In Jerusalem, crowds gathered along the walls of the Old City
from which they hung a huge replica of the country's declaration
of independence.
"What we are doing here is we are fighting for our lives. We are
fighting for our lives as a Jewish people together in the state
that we have been building for 75 years," said Avidan Friedman,
who was wearing a Jewish prayer shawl over his head.
"We are fighting because we feel like what's going on now is
tearing us apart and we are calling on the government to stop."
Netanyahu in the meantime pushed ahead with the legislation,
which includes bills to give the government decisive sway in
electing judges and to limit the court's power to strike down
laws. On Thursday a law was ratified limiting the circumstances
in which a prime minister can be removed.
Netanyahu - on trial for corruption charges he denies - says the
judicial overhaul is needed to restore balance between the
branches of government. Critics say it will weaken Israel's
democracy and hand uncontrolled powers to the government of the
day.
(Reporting by Rami Amichay, Eli Berlzon, Dedi Hayun, Ari
Rabinovitch, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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