From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Dozens of Israelis protest activist behind judicial legislation in New Jersey
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
Dozens of demonstrators, mostly Israelis, protest in New Jersey outside an appearance by Moshe Koppel, a key activist in the formulation of the Israeli government’s overhaul legislation.
Koppel is the head of the Kohelet Policy Forum, a think tank deeply involved in the government’s legislative push that helped write the legislation.
The demonstrators gather in drizzling rain outside a synagogue in Englewood, New Jersey, where Koppel was set to appear.
They carry Israeli flags and signs reading “Save Israel’s Democracy,” “No democracy no future,” and chant “Shame on Kohelet.”
Video shared by protesters shows a demonstration in New Jersey outside an appearance by Moshe Koppel, head of Kohelet, for its role in the Israeli judicial overhaul pic.twitter.com/OpRSo9mcPq
— Luke Tress (@luketress) March 25, 2023
Some dress in costumes from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a motif in the protests in Israel representing threats to women’s rights and a dystopian future.
Over 200 demonstrators rallied in New York City on Wednesday outside an appearance by Koppel at an Orthodox organization, and have protested in New York City and New Jersey against coalition ministers as they visited the area.
The demonstrators will hold another protest tomorrow in New York City’s Washington Square Park.
The weekly Sunday events have grown bigger in recent weeks, drawing several hundred participants.
