Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off mass anti-government protests that took place across the country hours earlier, saying his controversial and much-criticized reform of the justice system was what the people voted for in November 1 elections.
"Two months ago, there was a huge demonstration in Israel, the mother of all demonstrations," Netanyahu said during weekly cabinet meeting. "Millions of people took to the streets to vote in the elections. One of the main issues they voted for is reforming the judicial system."
On Saturday night, an estimated 80,000 in the central city of Tel Aviv and many thousands in Jerusalem turned out to protest against reforms to Israel's judicial system proposed by a minister. The November 2022 elections - the fifth since 2019 - saw some of the highest voter turnout in recent Israeli history. The result saw the Netanyahu bloc outpoll the so-called "anti-Netanyahu" bloc by roughly 30,000 votes.
"In recent days, I have heard an attempt to claim that the public did not know what they were voting for," Netanyahu continued. "So here is a quote, one of many, from my friends from the election campaign and me: 'We will make the necessary corrections in the judicial system out of consideration and responsibility. We are going to fix the system, save it and not destroy it.'
"My friends and I, many of whom are here around the table, have said this countless times, and millions of citizens who voted for the right-wing camp knew about the intention to reform the judicial system comprehensively," the prime minister added. "More than that, they demanded it from us. Anyone who was at our election rallies, in the city centers, in the neighborhoods, we heard the voice rising from the crowd."
"And many of those who did not vote for us knew and agreed that it was necessary to make fundamental corrections in the judicial system," he added. Netanyahu then noted that when other governments - both on the right and the left - called to reform the judicial system, no one called it the "end of democracy."
Israel’s new government has made overhauling the country’s legal system a centerpiece of its agenda, working to weaken the Supreme Court and allowing lawmakers to pass laws the court has struck down with a simple majority in parliament. Other reforms include politicizing the appointment of judges, reducing the independence of government legal advisors or ignoring their counsel.