The largest demonstration is taking place again in Tel Aviv, where one hundred thousand people took to the streets in the evening, according to the Channel 12 TV station, and the daily newspaper “Haaretz” estimates that the number of participants reached 160 thousand. 30,000 people took part in the Haifa demonstration and thousands demonstrated in other cities, including Jerusalem.

The demonstrators again wave Israeli flags and carry various banners. In Tel Aviv, a group of people unfurled a huge banner with portraits of Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which is supposed to symbolize authoritarian rule. Many Israelis talk about the end of democracy and the beginning of dictatorship with regard to judicial reform.

For example, the former Israeli Prime Minister and former Defense Minister Ehud Barak said today in Tel Aviv that the country is going through the worst crisis since the establishment of the State of Israel. “We are here to defend the Declaration of Independence against the attempt to turn Israel into a dictatorship,” the daily Haaretz quoted Barak as saying. Former Mossad chief Danny Gatom told Channel 13 today that judicial reform will turn Israel into a dictatorship.

For weeks, opposition politicians and experts from various fields have spoken out against the judicial reform proposal, which would limit the powers of the Supreme Court in favor of the government, and President Isaac Herzog is also trying to make the government wait before approving the reform and seeking a compromise with the opposition. Despite the widespread criticism and mass demonstrations, the House of Representatives, in which the ruling coalition enjoys the first reading, approved the first part of the reform related to the appointment of Supreme Court judges. On Monday, for the second week in a row, tens of thousands gathered in Jerusalem to protest as parliament debated reform.