Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke out in support of the Israeli judicial reform protests in a video that was screened at the anti-judicial reform demonstrations in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
Sanchez’s speech was published as the protesters gathered for the 17th week in a row, in 150 different locations nationwide.
“Dear Israeli friends, we as Socialist International have always fought for freedom, equality, justice and democracy,” Sanchez said. “Yet, as many of you already know, these are values that we cannot take for granted, and that we have to promote and defend on a daily basis. As such, now as always, the Socialist International stands in solidarity with the people of Israel. Dear friends, you will always find us in the fight for democracy.”
Sanchez has served as the prime minister since June 2018 and is the head of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.
In response, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen took to Twitter to criticize the video.
“For the opponents of the reforms, there are no red lines, including the attempt to harm [Israel’s] international status,” he wrote. “No foreign entity will decide for the Israeli public, and I’m sure that Sanchez had no such intention. As someone who supports the reform, I have no doubt that it will strengthen democracy and balance out authority.”
“No foreign entity will decide for the Israeli public, and I’m sure that Sanchez had no such intention. As someone who supports the reform, I have no doubt that it will strengthen democracy and balance out authority.”
Eli Cohen
The main judicial reform protest was held on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, where High Court Justice Yoram Danziger, Bar Association head Amit Bacher and Israeli Nobel Prize winner Aaron Ciechanover delivered speeches on the main stage.
At the same time, National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz spoke at a protest in Ra’anana and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman addressed the crowds in Beersheba.
According to estimates published by Hebrew media sources, some 180,000 participated in the Tel Aviv protests and thousands more around the country.
Ahead of the protest, the organizers released a statement, warning that: “As the Knesset reconvenes and the judicial coup becomes imminent, we will come out in the hundreds of thousands to protest throughout the country. There is only one line of defense separating Israel from dictatorship: hundreds of thousands of determined citizens on the streets.”
The Saturday night protests come on the heels of the pro-judicial reform demonstration which was attended by over 150,000 people in Jerusalem on Thursday night.
Referencing the right-wing protests, the organizers added: “The serious incitement in [Thursday] night’s demonstration, which included shocking scenes of images of Supreme Court judges being trampled on, reminds us of the demonstrations of the Ayatollah regime in Iran. That’s where the Israeli government is dragging us. We have to stop it.”
"The government destroys everything it sees. They are destroying the people's army, they are destroying the education of our children, they are destroying the most sacred principle of Israel society."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid
Lapid: 'The country belongs to those who work for it'
Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke at a protest in Kfar Saba, telling the listening crowd that their protests were “a show of love.”
“The flag we hold is the flag of a Jewish and democratic state,” he began. “This is the flag of Zionism. This is the flag of liberalism. This is the flag of Israeli patriots who are not ready to give up their country.”
Referencing the right-wing pro-judicial reform protest Lapid said: “One after the other, ministers and MKs came up and explained how everyone is guilty. The High Court, the media, the opposition, the leftists, and of course, the protesters. Everyone is guilty. Everyone is a traitor. They have everyone.”
He continued: “This country belongs first of all to those who work for it and fight for it, and these people say today to the government: We will not let you destroy our democracy.
“The government destroys everything it sees. They are destroying the people’s army, they are destroying the education of our children, they are destroying the most sacred principle of Israel society: The idea that we are one people.”
Sa'ar: Justice Minister does not understand justice system
In Herzliya, former justice minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized the speech given by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in Jerusalem on Thursday, calling it a “speech of incitement and lies that defamed the system he heads.”
“During his speech, he uttered a lie of ‘no more one-sided judicial system.’ One-sided? For shame. Classifying judges as being on sides is a serious thing, this indicates that the justice minister doesn’t understand what an independent judicial system is,” said the National Unity Party MK.
National Equality Day
This coming Thursday is set to be marked by anti-judicial reform protesters as National Equality Day, the organizers announced during Saturday night’s events.
“The protest movement will focus on promoting equality and encouraging citizens to contribute to those who have been financially impacted by the government’s irresponsible policies,” they said.
“On National Equality Day, protesters will participate in numerous demonstrations across the country, from the Goma junction in the north to Eilat in the south.
“On this day, the ultra-Orthodox leadership will be officially notified that it is time to demand that the judicial coup be completely shelved.”
This is a developing story.