Hundreds of thousands of Israelis attended nationwide protests for a 14th consecutive week against the far-right government’s plans to shackle the country’s judiciary on Saturday.

Anti-Occupation Bloc activists marching in Haifa, Saturday evening, April 8, 2023 (Photo: Anat Halpern)

Amid the Passover holiday, protesters in several demonstrations held banners of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an Egyptian pharaoh reading, “Let my people go,” referencing Moses’s plea to the biblical Pharaoh to allow the Israelite slaves to leave Egypt. In Tel Aviv, a group of demonstrators play-acted the forces of the “national guard”, a fascist militia proposed by racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, repeating a similar protest that occurred last week.  

Anti-Occupation Bloc activists, among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members, rallied on Saturday night several locations locations among them Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Herzliya, Netanya, Kfar Saba, Carmiel, Hod Hasharon and Pardes Hanna–Karkur.  

Netanyahu’s first 100 days at the head of his sixth Knesset have been less than peaceful. According to a new poll from Israeli news outlet N12, 69% of Israelis think the government has done a decidedly poor job in its first 100 days. 52% of Likud voters polled by N12 gave the government a “bad” grade, despite having turned out in droves to give the party 32 seats in Knesset. Specific individuals who also received poor scores included Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who received 66% and 65% “bad” scores respectively. Transportation Minister Miri Regev received negative feedback from 63% of respondents. The prime minister himself received a disapproval rating of 67% on the N12 poll.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30944