"Democracy crumbling' - protesters slam Netanyahu's plan to reform Israel's top court, minister appointment

Record ID: 1705305

  • Title: "Democracy crumbling' - protesters slam Netanyahu's plan to reform Israel's top court, minister appointment
  • Date: 5th January 2023
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (JANUARY 5, 2023) (REUTERS) ISRAELI PROTESTER WEARING MASK OF ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU IN PRISONER UNIFORM, RAISING HIS CUFFED HANDS PROTESTERS BLOCKING ROAD IN FRONT OF SUPREME COURT PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER, BLOWING VUVUZELA, PROTESTER CHANTING (Hebrew) 'HE IS A THIEF' CAR BLOCKED BY PROTEST PROTESTERS CHANTING, USING MEGAPHONES PROTESTER HOLDING POSTER DEPICTING ULTRA-ORTHODOX LEADER ARYEH DERI PROTESTERS WAVING ISRAELI FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PHYSICIAN, OFER HAVAKUK, 48, SAYING: "I am here for the values of Israel. Israel is losing its values. We have established this nation on democracy, on belief in human rights and now we stop believing in all of this. We have a new government which is losing its values and the democracy is crumbling in front of our eyes." (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMIR SCHNABEL, 57, FROM TEL AVIV, SAYING: "We came here to protest the corruption of the Israeli government. We don't agree that a criminal will be appointed to be a minister just after he signed a plea bargain, he was supposed to be ousted out of any public office and he is still in it. We are fighting also all the new laws that are going to pass and actually cancel all democracy that is today and weaken the Supreme Court as we know it today." PROTESTERS PLAYING THE DRUM, CHANTING (Hebrew) 'DEMOCRACY' PROTESTERS WITH ISRAELI FLAGS CHANTING VARIOUS OF HUNDREDS PROTESTING IN FRONT OF SUPREME COURT PROTESTER PLAYING DRUM, PROTESTERS WAVING ISRAELI FLAGS PROTESTER CHANTING FROM THE TOP OF A TRAFFIC LIGHT VARIOUS OF LAWYERS AT COURTROOM WAITING SUPREME COURT HEARING ON APPEAL AGAINST ARYEH DERI'S APPOINTMENT MEMBERS OF DERI'S ULTRA-ORTHODOX SHAS PARTY SITTING IN COURTROOM LAWYERS ISRAEL EMBLEM ON WALL VARIOUS OF SUPREME COURT JUDGES WALKING IN, TAKING SEATS
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2023 12:57
  • Keywords: Aryeh Deri Israel Justice Minister Yariv Levin Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Supreme Court judicial system law protest
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City: JERUSALEM
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Lawmaking,Middle East,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001043704012023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: About 1,000 Israeli protesters staged a demonstration in Jerusalem on Thursday (January 5) outside the Supreme Court, which was hearing an appeal against the appointment of ultra-Orthodox leader Aryeh Deri as cabinet minister despite his conviction for tax fraud.
    Deri, 63, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, is the veteran leader of Shas, which draws support from religious Jews of Middle Eastern descent.
    His appointment to the new Netanyahu government has been challenged in Israel's Supreme Court given his conviction for tax fraud - without prison time - last year.
    In 1999, Deri was sentenced to three years in jail for taking bribes.
    He returned to politics in 2012.
    He now serves as interior and health minister and is due to rotate to finance in two years.
    It comes as Israel new hard-right government seeks reforms to the judiciary to limit its influence on government policy and give politicians a bigger role in picking top judges, alarming opponents who fear it will hurt democracy and minority rights.
    Justice Minister Yariv Levin unveiled his plan on Wednesday (January 4), describing it as a restoration of balance between the legislative, executive and judiciary.
    It was greeted with delight by his partners in the nationalist-religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have long accused the court of overreach and the bench of elitism.
    "Democracy is crumbling in front of our eyes," said one protester, 48-year-old physician Ofer Havakuk.
    Israelis opposed to the reforms fear for the country's democratic health, defending the court as a bulwark for minority rights.
    (Production: Dedi Hayun, Ilan Rosenberg, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh, Lee Marzel)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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