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Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday night in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv against the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The protests are mainly against Justice Minister Jariv Levin’s plans to specifically weaken the country’s judicial system.

It was the largest demonstration yet against the new government, which was sworn in at the end of December. Protests also took place in Haifa and Jerusalem.

The mass rally in Tel Aviv, in which some 80,000 people took part according to media reports, began in the city center on the square in front of the Habima National Theater. The demonstrators then marched through the streets waving blue and white Israeli flags. “Democracy,” they chanted over and over. “The state is not your toy,” one poster read.

Netanyahu’s government is planning major reforms in the judiciary. A majority in parliament should therefore be able to pass a law, even if the Supreme Court considers it to be contrary to the Basic Law. Attorney General Levin also wants to change the composition of the body that appoints judges. He accuses the Supreme Court of excessive interference in political decisions.

Israel’s Supreme Court chief Esther Chajut warned Thursday of a “mortal blow” to the independence of judges in an unusually sharply worded speech. After the planned reforms, the country’s democratic identity would be completely disrupted, she said. Levin then accused Chayut of being on the side of the opposition.

Earlier in the week, Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced a crackdown on protesters.

The government of re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the most right-wing government Israel has ever had. For the first time, extreme right-wing politicians are also represented.

(dsc/sda/dpa)