Stepped-up anti-overhaul protests see hundreds block Haifa port, gather at airport
Moving ahead despite West Bank military op, as Knesset overhaul panel also meets, demonstrators close roads to seaport, numerous rallies held abroad ahead of protests at Ben Gurion
Vowing to move ahead with a day of planned protests despite Israel launching a major military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, demonstrators against the government’s effort to overhaul the justice system blocked access to the Haifa port on Monday morning, as dozens of rallies also took place abroad.
The day continued with protests at Ben Gurion Aiport, with thousands aiming to block or complicate access from late afternoon, as the movement seeks a show of force against the coalition’s renewal of its legislative push.
The protests are ramping up as the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has begun deliberations on the “reasonableness” bill. Coalition figures have vowed to pass such legislation before the Knesset’s summer recess at the end of the month.
Protest organizers had said they would cancel Monday’s events if the committee postponed its session on Monday, but the Knesset meeting went ahead as scheduled.
Hundreds of protesters blocked access roads to the Haifa port in the morning, preventing vehicles from entering the terminal.
Large numbers of police were deployed to the area as demonstrators disobeyed an order to clear the roads leading to the country’s largest seaport.
As negotiations between the coalition and opposition on a broadly agreed-upon judicial reform have collapsed, the fight over the overhaul has heated up once more as the government gears up to unilaterally push through parts of the legislation.
Organizers of the Haifa protest said in a statement: “Blocking the port of Haifa is one step out of dozens of resistance actions that will stop the government of destruction and will not allow any dictatorial law to pass.”
Protesters laid down barbed wire across the road to stop trucks and other vehicles from entering the port.
Among those participating in the demonstration was Brothers and Sisters in Arms, an organization of army reservists, the Haaretz daily reported.
Some demonstrators waved banners proclaiming: “The dictatorship is drowning the country.”
Heavy congestion snarled the area.
In addition, an international movement to coordinate protests against the overhaul claimed that rallies were held at dozens of locations around the world on Sunday.
“We demonstrated in front of the Israeli consulates, embassies, and key locations to voice our strong disapproval against the ‘Cause of corruption’ (the ‘reasonableness’ clause),” organizers said in a statement.
As part of the overhaul, the government is pushing ahead with a bill to block justices from exercising judicial review over the “reasonableness” of government decisions.
“These unified demonstrations stretched from Washington DC, New York, Paris, and Madrid, all the way to Sydney, Melbourne, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, London, Oslo, Cambridge, Houston, Boston, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Munich, Copenhagen, Rochester, Vancouver, Chapel Hill, San Diego, and beyond,” organizers said.
“The Israeli pro-democracy protest is here: in Washington, in New York, in Paris, and wherever there is an Israeli and Jewish community that refuses to abandon the Zionist dream of a Jewish, democratic, equitable, and secure state,” the statement said.
Israeli protest organizers were planning to rally outside Ben Gurion’s Terminal 3 at 5:30 p.m., with throngs of demonstrators expected to arrive by car and train. Police initially said the rally would only be allowed outside the smaller Terminal 1 and would be limited to 5,000 participants, an instruction that protest leaders rejected and indicated they may ignore.
Beyond the protests at the terminals, many people were expected to gum up the routes to the airport by driving around the area in convoys, as police warned of fines and driver violation points for those who intentionally clog roads.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Sunday he expected police to “not give in to lawbreakers.”
On Sunday evening, protesters against the judicial overhaul harried Justice Minister Yariv Levin as he visited a local restaurant in his hometown of Modiin.
Video shared on social media showed a handful of protesters waving Israeli flags and accosting Levin, a chief architect of the overhaul, as he sat with his wife at a corner table in the Biga restaurant.
At the head of the protest group was Itay Steinmetz, a leader of anti-government protests in Modiin, the Ynet news site reported.
יריב המחריב, הפוך שותים רק בדמוקרטיה! מקוים שנהנתם. נרדוף אתכם לכל מקום! pic.twitter.com/v8lqSdrShi
— Ami Dror ???????? עמי דרור (@AmiDror) July 2, 2023
Steinmetz called Levin “a liar” and “a coward” who was inciting against law-abiding citizens, “a criminal… who has come to destroy the country” and “a disgrace to Modiin.”
As Levin continued to sit with his back to the demonstrators, without looking around, Steinmetz shouted: “You aren’t even able to look the protesters in the eye.”
Two bodyguards kept the protesters several meters away from Levin.
At some point, a man arrived, apparently a senior member of staff at the restaurant, and ordered the protesters to leave. The demonstrators then gathered outside and continued with their chants. They later followed the Levins as they left and returned to their car.
While protests had somewhat calmed over the past few months as the judicial overhaul legislation was paused, organizers said that now that the government has begun moving ahead in the Knesset with some elements of the plan, they are renewing their efforts.
Organizers have said they plan for Israelis to go about their daily routines in the coming days as they adopt a more aggressive stance toward the coalition’s moves.
Saturday saw the 26th weekend of nationwide protests against the judicial shakeup. The main demonstration was, as usual, held on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street. Channel 13 partner Crowd Solutions estimated 130,000 participants while organizers put the number at some 150,000. Nationwide, the organizers claimed a turnout of 286,000.
