As the Netanyahu government prepared to pass the controversial bill in Parliament today, protests and demonstrations intensified across the country.
According to reports in the Israeli press, the Israeli Business Organization, representing about 150 companies, including shopping malls, banks, gas stations, and supermarkets, announced that they would go on a strike today against the government's judiciary reform.
The Israeli Business Organization called on other institutions and organizations in the country to join this emergency step "to stop the one-sided legislation and bring the parties to the table for a compromise." In their written statement, they demanded that the Prime Minister immediately suspend the bill, understanding the magnitude of the potential disaster, and initiate negotiations.
Meanwhile, approximately 200 high-tech companies, known as the driving force of the Israeli economy, also declared that they had granted their employees permission to participate in today's protests.
Various organizations and firms representing lawyers in Israel also announced that they would participate in anti-government protests throughout the day.
The controversial judiciary reform
The Minister of Justice of Israel, Yariv Levin's "judiciary reform," which was announced on January 5th, includes changes such as limiting the authority of the Supreme Court and giving the government a say in judicial appointments.
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced on March 27th that he had postponed the judiciary reform, which had led to increasing mass protests and strikes across the country. However, he declared that they would bring the judiciary reform back to the agenda after passing the 2023-2024 budget in late May.
Following the deadlock in negotiations with the opposition, the government recently resumed efforts to pass the judiciary reform.
As part of the judiciary reform, the Netanyahu government announced that the bill to remove the High Court's oversight over the government would be brought to the second and third readings in the Parliament on July 24th, after passing the first vote on July 11th.
Opponents of the government's "judiciary reform," including thousands of Israelis, including combat pilots, submarine officers, and other elite units, had decided to resign from their voluntary reserve military service.
Prominent figures in politics, military, security, economy, and judiciary in the country had also publicly expressed their opposition to the government's judiciary reform.
The protest movement against Netanyahu's judiciary reform has been ongoing for about 7 months.
