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From the Liveblog of Monday, February 20, 2023

Masses arrive in Jerusalem for protest: ‘It’s for my children, my grandchildren’

By Carrie Keller-Lynn 20 February 2023, 12:56 pm 3 Edit

Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

Yohanan Ittach, one of the thousands heading to a protest outside the Knesset against the government's judicial overhaul, at Jerusalem's train station on February 20, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

Cheering for democracy and against “crony capitalism,” hundreds of protesters stream out of Jerusalem’s train station, en route to the second week of mass anti-judicial reform protests outside the Knesset.

Among them are several reserve and former reserve soldiers, carrying banners emblazoned with slogans such as “brothers in arms,” like 69-year-old Yohanan Ittach from Nirit.

“I’m a warrior. A warrior against my enemies. And a warrior for my values. And I fight right now for my home,” he says, stepping out of Jerusalem’s train station to make his way to the protest.

“It’s not for me, I’m finished,” the nearly septuagenarian says with flair. “It’s for my children, my grandchildren.”