Protesters march in Jerusalem as cabinet prepares for motion of no-confidence in AG
Dozens of professors cancel class to join protests in capital, as university presidents threaten to strike if government ignores High Court injunction on firing of Shin Bet chief
Protesters gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday morning for a sixth consecutive day of demonstrations against the government’s plans to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted overnight Thursday-Friday to fire the internal security chief, prompting the High Court of Justice to issue a temporary injunction against the move that some ministers have suggested or called on the government to ignore.
On Sunday the cabinet was discussing a motion of no-confidence in Baharav-Miara, one step among many in a lengthy firing process that could take some two months and is also expected to draw a legal fight at the High Court.
Sunday’s protest started on Azza Street, close to the prime minister’s residence, with demonstrators then setting out on a march to the Government Quarter in Givat Ram. The march was timed for their arrival to coincide with the cabinet meeting.
As the meeting got underway — led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, with neither Baharav-Miara nor Netanyahu in attendance, the latter due to conflicts of interest — retired Supreme Court justice Ayala Procaccia addressed protesters outside.
She warned rallygoers that Israel is “no longer a free democracy, but another regime, one that we do not know. A regime in which there is no rule of law and no true freedom, a regime that lacks human rights protections.”
“We cannot put up with such a regime,” she said, calling for protesters to continue to show up and “unite against the destruction of the image of the country.”
Former Shin Ber chief Ami Ayalon was also set to address the protesters.
The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv shared a photo on X of a “skunk spray” cannon parked inside the Government Quarter in anticipation of the protesters.
“A good illustration of the complete blurring of lines that is taking place with respect to democratic principles,” he said of the crowd-dispersal device, often used to spray protesters with a foul-smelling liquid.
מכתז״ית בואש חונה בתוך שטח ריבונות הכנסת ומקבלת את פני הבאים למשכן.
אילוסטרציה טובה לטשטוש הגבולות המוחלט שמתרחש בבית הזה ביחס לעקרונות דמוקרטיים בכלל, ולחופש. מחאה בפרט.
פניתי בעניין לקצין הכנסת בנושא. נמשיך ונדווח. pic.twitter.com/99oafqQpLy
— גלעד קריב (@KarivGilad) March 23, 2025
Profs cancel classes, universities threaten strike
More than 1,000 faculty at universities across the country said they would join anti-government protests in Jerusalem on Sunday, and disruptions in classes were expected.
Leaders of the major research universities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv said Saturday they would go on strike if the government does not comply with the High Court of Justice order freezing the firing of Ronen Bar, and called on the leadership of other colleges and universities to support a general strike if the government violates the injunction.
“This is an extreme step, but not complying with a High Court of Justice order poses an existential threat to the State of Israel, which could lead, heaven forbid, to civil war,” Professor Ariel Porat, president of Tel Aviv University, said in a statement, “and it requires extreme steps to prevent it.”
“If the government does not fulfill the ruling of the court, deliberately, then it is a criminal government that considers itself above the law, and as such considers itself to be a dictatorial government,” Porat added.
On Friday, some 20 senior figures in Israeli academia, including former presidents of almost every university, published a statement warning that “the government is harming the independence of academia, restricting academic freedom, [and] working to take control of educational and cultural institutions,” calling the latter the “cornerstones of liberal democracy.”
Well over 100,000 people attended protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and dozens of other cities across Israel on Saturday night as anger mounted over both the planned removal of the country’s top gatekeepers and the resumption of the war in Gaza in the absence of a hostage deal to release the 24 presumed-living, and 35 dead, captives held by terror groups there.
The Times of Israel Community.