Reporting
Israel: Protests against government plans for justice continue
Audio 01:30
Israeli demonstrators opposed to government plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset on Monday, February 20, 2023. AP - Ohad Zwigenberg
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Israel, the showdown in the streets continues.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate again this Monday, February 20, in Jerusalem, near the Knesset.
The Israeli Parliament is preparing to reform the justice system.
With the adoption of this new controversial text, the government will obtain full powers and neutralize the Supreme Court.
The highest court in the country, however, plays the role of safeguard and guarantees compliance with the law.
She is also the protector of the rights of minorities, who feel threatened more than ever.
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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Sami Boukhelifa
Amidst the crowd, Ran proudly waves the rainbow flag.
He demonstrates to defend the rights of the LGBTQ community, but not only.
“
All minorities are in danger,
he says,
Arabs, LGBT people, women... This government wants to weaken the Supreme Court, suppress civil laws and impose those of the rabbis.
If there is no more democracy in Israel, we will have to leave.
»
In the procession, Ran is not the only one thinking of leaving the country.
Eli, also a member of the LGBTQ community, has already prepared his departure.
He converted all his savings into dollars, and transferred them abroad.
"
I'm really scared,"
says Eli.
This government is a government of religious fanatics, messianics.
If it were up to them, they would execute all homosexuals, as it is written in the Torah.
And the only thing stopping them from implementing their plan is the Supreme Court.
They will turn Israel into Iran.
Iran was also an open country in the 1970s. Women were on the beaches in bathing suits, and everything was fine.
And then the clerics took over and started executing homosexuals.
And that's exactly what can happen here.
»
Fears justified by recurring homophobic comments from ministers from the far right and religious parties.
Some of them call homosexuals “abnormal” people.
►Also read: The American ambassador to Israel draws the wrath of the Netanyahu government
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