Protesters at the Western Wall in Jerusalem this morning
It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks three months to the day from our return to Canada after a varied and beautiful trip to Israel. We flew there on Good Friday and had discussions with Ruth's sister and brother-in-law for a Plan B if they couldn't get to the airport to pick us up. There had months weeks of huge public protests which included blockage of the highway to Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv, not far from where they live.
Fortunately for us, the protests against sweeping changes to the Supreme Court were suspended when the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that the legislation would be tabled until the next session of the Knesset. The majority of Israelis are concerned that these changes will undermine an independent judiciary and democracy.
When we arrived in Israel we drove immediately to Jerusalem and while we were offered a rest day we had a quick nap and hit the streets of the old city. Eventually we were in the plaza at the base of the Western Wall where orthodox Jews go to pray. The area was busy because it was Passover, and we were aware of a large police and military presence. It was also was also Ramadan and Muslims were gathered in large numbers at the Al Aksa mosque, just above the plaza.
This morning Israelis were out again in the hundreds of thousands with the vote on the changes likely taking place tomorrow. The plaza at the Western Wall was filled again, this time with protesters. This assembly marks the conclusion of a five-day march across the country by thousands. They know that this is a spiritual issue as well as political and a complication is that lots of ultra-orthodox Jews, including some cabinet ministers, support the limiting of judicial power.
Nations around the world have expressed their concern and opposition to the trend of this government, which has been defiant. We can offer our own prayers today and during the week before us.
2 comments:
I hope their protest was not as rude and offensive - and totally off base - as the one in Belleville this past week, when the Prime minister was in town.
It hasn't been. What happened in Belleville was far beyond a civil protest, and both obnoxious and pathetic. Our mayor recognized the right to freedom of speech but not the freedom to engage in threatening personal attacks.
What has happened in Israel is a grassroots movement to protect democracy. As it happens, our Israel family members were with us overnight and they are deeply concerned about the steady erosion of freedoms in the country and they have friends from every strata of society who have joined the protests during the past six months.
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