Israelis are protesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s plans to reform the judicial system. (AP/Ariel Schalit) More than 100,000 people took to the streets in Tel Aviv alone. Protest leader Shikma Bressler warned against statements about a rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Talk on the subject was only intended to divert attention from the attempt to establish a “dictatorship” in Israel, she said, according to Israeli media. Both Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have increasingly spoken about rapprochement between their countries.
The backdrop to the mass protests is the restructuring of the judiciary, which aims to weaken it in comparison with politics. This time the protests coincide with the beginning of the Jewish Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur. It is considered the most important holiday in Judaism.
This message was sent on September 23, 2023 on the Deutschlandfunk program.