Hundreds of Israelis and British Jews in London came out to protest Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial reforms to the country's judiciary.
Over a thousand people took signs and chanted on Tower Bridge yesterday in opposition to the Israeli government’s judicial reforms.
Both sides of the bridge were occupied, and traffic was blocked during the afternoon.
Protesters gathered on Tower Bridge for a rally, holding signs that read “Save Israel’s Democracy” and “Netanyahu – go to jail”.
Today, over 1,500 Israelis and British Jews marched together on Tower Bridge - standing in solidarity with Israel! 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/FlCkTvMZq8
— Defend Israeli Democracy UK (@defendisraeluk) July 23, 2023
Sharon Shochat, from Defend Israeli Democracy UK (the local arm of the Israeli movement) said: “Marching on an iconic bridge, echoing the march of tens of thousands of Israelis to Jerusalem over the last few days, sends a strong message to Israel and the world: we will fight for Israel’s democracy from every corner of the world”.
Protests this weekend were the culmination of demonstrations that have been taking place in London since February, and coincided with protests in 25 cities across the world.
Marches were held in the US, as well as across Europe and Australia. In New York, over 1000 people marched on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Shochat said: “We marched on iconic and crowded bridges to symbolise the march to Jerusalem and to shout throughout the world: Israel will remain democratic”.
Inspiring to see Israeli expats in London coming out in force to protest for Israel’s democracy! Now all we need is for them to remember to fly in on election day.✊ pic.twitter.com/DKmgC9cFtn
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 23, 2023
Shany Granot-Lubaton, who protested in New York, said the scale was “unprecedented”. “It shows how many people are in pain,” she said, and are “unable to sit at home”.
Protests in Israel have been held weekly for 28 weeks since the government announced their plans to reform the judicial system.
The protests today were in advance of the Knesset vote today on the “reasonableness bill”. The bill passed its final reading this afternoon, which will see the power of the judiciary in Israel curtailed.
Thousands of military reservists had threatened that they will not report for duty if the bill passed. A US official told Axios that this could cause a “crisis” in the military which would have “negative implications for Israel's deterrence strategy and encourage Iran or Hezbollah to conduct military provocations that could escalate the situation in the region”.
In a statement, the Board of Deputies said: “Both the Board of Deputies and the JLC have been supportive of the efforts by President Herzog to find a compromise between supporters and opponents of the proposed judicial reforms and we are deeply disappointed that, at this stage, the efforts have failed.
"Now that the first law has passed, we plead with Israeli leaders to return urgently to dialogue and to prevent the deepening of a constitutional crisis which will do tremendous damage to the very fabric of Israeli society, its regional security and global status.
"A Jewish democratic state remains the greatest achievement of the Jewish People in modern times and its preservation and development should be a priority of Jews worldwide.”
