Thousands of people demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the election of the new McCarthy government – dramatic scenes took place beforehand

Several thousand people took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Israel, against the new government. The demonstrators gathered in the center of the coastal town on Saturday evening and then marched loudly through the streets. They waved Israeli flags and held up banners. “We will not allow our country to be destroyed! We will continue to fight for our democracy,” Merav Michaeli of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party, who took part in the demonstration, wrote on Twitter.

The new government of re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in last week. It is the most right-wing government Israel has ever had. For the first time, far-right politicians are also represented in the coalition that is planning far-reaching reforms.

According to the organizers, the protests were directed against, among other things, the plans of the new justice minister Jariv Levin, which are intended precisely to weaken the justice system. A majority in parliament must be able to pass a law, even if the Supreme Court considers it to be contrary to the basic law. Levin also wants to change the composition of the panel that appoints judges.

“If we don’t take to the streets, we will lose our democracy,” said Hewi Boem, who took part in the demonstration in Tel Aviv, the German news agency. The new government is criminal and corrupt. Another participant said it was good that more people took to the streets than in a long time. “But it’s not enough to stop this criminal government.” (sda/dpa)