Ben Gvir applauds right-wing protesters; Labor MK decries attacks on Arabs

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir applauds protesters who came out in support of the judicial overhaul today.

Thousands of right-wingers demonstrated in the first major protests in support of the contentious legislation, after over two months of massive demonstrations against the plan.

Right-wing protesters in Jerusalem accosted Arab passersby and drivers during the day’s demonstrations.

“Today the right stopped sitting on the sidelines and being quiet,” Ben Gvir writes on Twitter.

“The right is usually indifferent to protests and active at the voting booth. But when they want to cancel our vote, when they try to steal the election results from us, when they tell us we are second-class voters — this is the result,” he says, alongside a video of pro-government protesters chanting “reform now.”

היום הימין הפסיק לשבת בצד ולשתוק. הימין בדרך כלל אדיש בהפגנות, ואקטיבי בקלפיות. אבל כשרוצים לבטל את הקול שלנו, כשמנסים לגנוב לנו את תוצאות הבחירות, כשאומרים לנו שהקול שלנו זה סוג ב׳ – זו התוצאה. https://t.co/5wPbCvLa1G

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) March 27, 2023

Labor party lawmaker Gilad Kariv decries the demonstrators’ “attempted lynchings” in a statement posted to Twitter, referring to the harassment and assault of Arabs.

“This is organized infrastructure and not spontaneous gatherings. The police and Shin Bet don’t have a proper response, in intelligence or operations, to this violent infrastructure. It’s time for them to wake up,” Kariv says.

Labor party leader Merav Michaeli lashed the demonstrators as “Ben Gvir’s militias” earlier today for the attacks against Arabs.

Prime Minister Netanyahu promised Ben Gvir a “national guard” in exchange for Ben Gvir backing Netanyahu’s decision to pause the judicial overhaul legislation. Ben Gvir already heads the police force and Border Police.