As thousands protest in Haifa, Police Commissioner Chief Superintendent Ya’akov Shabtai arrived at the police headquarters, receiving a review from the commander of the coastal district and the commander of the Carmel area of the Israeli Air Force. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in the square on the way to the protest march in Kaplan, with Anna Gerva from Modi’in leading a group of protesters carrying signs in Russian and Ukrainian that read “must not be silent.” The police are preparing for a demonstration in Or Akiva, after demonstrators were attacked there last week. Demonstrations are also taking place in Ramat Hasharon, Rehovot, Hulda Junction, Karkur Junction, as well as, for the first time, in Ramla. The protest, in its 12th week, is focused on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, with other demonstrations in Haifa, Beer Sheva, and Jerusalem. Amid the legal reform discussions, the Constitution Committee will resume the discussion on the “Deri 2” law, which would allow the return of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri to the government after the High Court disqualified him. Protesters have also announced a “national paralysis week,” including roadblocks and demonstrations at the Knesset and in front of the Bar Association.
19:17 | Thousands protest in Haifa; The commissioner arrived at the police headquarters in the city
Police Commissioner Chief Superintendent Ya’akov Shabtai is at this time at the police headquarters in the Horev center in Haifa, where thousands are protesting.
The commissioner received a review on the spot from the commander of the coastal district, Superintendent Yoram Sofer, and the commander of the Carmel area of the Israeli Air Force, Eli Magen.
19:04 | “Must not be silent”
Hundreds of people gathered in the square on the way to the protest march in Kaplan. Demonstrators lit a flare.
Anna Gerva from Modi’in, founder of the “Israeli Friends of Ukraine” association, arrived at the Bima square with a group of protesters carrying signs in Russian and Ukrainian. On the central sign is written in Russian “must not be silent”. According to her, “More than a million former Soviet Union expatriates live in the country. We recognized that there is little information about the protest among those who do not speak Hebrew, including those who speak Russian and Ukrainian. We set up a website where all the information about the protest is translated into Russian.”
“Must not be silent” / Photo: Globes
18:42 | The police are preparing for a demonstration in Or Akiva
Tonight, a protest march is expected to leave from Caesarea in light of Akiva. The march will leave from the golf parking lot in Caesarea towards Shechemim Street in Or Akiva (Nof Yam Park) starting at 19:30.
After demonstrators were attacked in Or Akiva last week, the police are preparing. According to the police announcement, “dozens of visible and hidden police officers will be stationed throughout the march to maintain public order and direct traffic.”
“During the passage of the procession, the squares leading to Shechemim Street will be blocked, and traffic will stop alternately depending on the progress of the procession.”
18:38 | First demonstration in Ramla
Thousands of protesters are marching at this hour in Haifa. At the same time as the demonstrations in Ramat Hasharon, Rehovot, Hulda Junction, Karkur Junction and for the first time in Ramla.
First demonstration in Ramla
17:54 | Demonstrators to Galant: “Get off the tree!”
At the beginning of the week when the coalition is expected to change the composition of the committee for the selection of judges, this evening (Saturday) the protest is renewed throughout the country. This is the 12th week in a row of demonstrations, when the main focus will be as usual on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, alongside dozens of centers including Haifa, Beer Sheva and Jerusalem. Major streets were blocked in central Tel Aviv and Haifa. The organizers of the protest announced that for the first time there will also be demonstrations in Ramla and Beit Shean.
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Tomorrow morning, the discussion in the Constitution Committee will resume, in preparation for the approval of the first part of the legal revolution and its transfer to a vote in the plenary for a second and third reading. The discussion in the committee on the “Deri 2” law, which is intended to allow the return of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri to the government after the High Court disqualified him, will resume tomorrow with the aim of approving it in the coming week.
Amendments to the legislation as part of the legal reform:
● Changing the composition of the committee for the selection of judges so that the coalition controls the appointments – In the discussions in the Constitution Committee for the second and third readings
● The candidates for the Supreme will appear before the Constitution Committee – In the discussions in the Constitution Committee for the second and third readings
● High Court judges will not be able to invalidate fundamental laws – Approved on first reading
● In order to invalidate a law, the agreement of 12 out of 15 High Court judges will be required – Approved on first reading
● A superseding clause will allow the Knesset to re-enact a law that was rejected by a majority of 61 members of the Knesset – Approved on first reading
● The court will not be able to pass a judicial review on the appointment of ministers (“Deri 2” law) – Approved on first reading
● The court will not be able to invalidate the decisions of the government and elected officials due to the reason of reasonableness – In the debates in the Constitution Committee before the first reading
● The legal advice to the government will not be binding. Ministers will be able to appoint advisers on their behalf – Not currently promoted
Following Netanyahu’s statement that he would not stop the legislation, the organizers of the protest announced that they would hold a “national paralysis week”. On Sunday and Monday, demonstrations are planned in places where the Knesset members and ministers from the Likud will be, on Tuesday there will be demonstrations and roadblocks, and on Wednesday a demonstration is planned in front of the Knesset. For the first time, the Bar Association will demonstrate against the removal of its representatives from the committee for the selection of judges, on Sunday between 11:30 and 13:30 at the entrance of the court on Weizman Street in Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of protesters in front of Gallant’s house: “Save the country”
In the afternoon, a demonstration began in front of the home of Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Hundreds of people, including children and babies, arrived in the rain at the minister’s house in Moshav Amikam. The demonstrators chant “democracy”, display ladders instead and carry signs “Galant – get off the tree, there is a ladder!”, “Galant, we are all with you! Stop crushing the army and the state now and resign”, “Galant please save the country”. Eyal Neve, one of the leaders of the “Brothers in Arms” of the military, said at the demonstration: “The police coup is crushing the country. It is disintegrating the people’s army. The people’s army only exists in a democracy.”
Demonstration near Galant’s house, this evening / Photo: Amikam Lelak, courtesy of the Hi-Tech Protest
At 19:00 there will be a march from the Bima Square to the main demonstration site on Kaplan Street. Tonight at the main demonstration in Tel Aviv Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, former Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, Yoav Nissan Cohen, fighter pilot in the Yom Kippur War, founder of Tower Semiconductor and high-tech entrepreneur, Sofia Cohen, daughter of Eli Cohen, and Omar Ben Elhanan, chairman of the Council The students of Tel Aviv. The demonstration will be led by Shakma Bresler, one of the leaders of the struggle, who was arrested in a demonstration on Thursday near the David Institute of the Rafael company.
The protesting women of “Building an Alternative”, who hold the slave women’s shows, will demonstrate today in Rehovot, Arad, Kfar Tabor, Beit Al-Ashetika, Haifa and other towns. For the first time today the performance will be shown in Givat Shmuel.
The Handmaids’ performance at Beit Al-Hashiteh / Photo: Naama Amit, courtesy of “Bonot Alternative”
In the streets, hundreds of protesters block the Science Park intersection, at the Goma intersection in the Upper Galilee, this evening the demonstrators stood for a moment of silence in memory of Adisi Albana, a 29-year-old young woman from Kiryat Ata, who was allegedly murdered yesterday by her partner.