(27 Mar 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem - 27 March 2023
1. Various of protesters
2. Woman chanting
3. Various of protesters outside of Knesset
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Nir Mueller, 59-year-old protester:
"I am going to stay here and fight for what 2,000 years the Jewish people fought for. Four generations of my family put blood on this land. No way two goddamn criminals are going to wipe out what four generations of my family put in this land. I hope I am clear whether I am staying or not. We will fight for this democracy. The world, listen. We will fight for this democracy."
5. Protesters
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ami Ido, 19-year-old student:
“Me and my friend came out here because we are horrified with what is going on, like what happened last night with the Defense Minister being fired just because he spoke out and supported positive reform. And we think Israel is a state of democracy and that’s why we’re here. I think it’s important that we’re fighting out here for democracy.”
7. Protesters waving flag of Israel
8. Woman dressed as fictional character Wonder Woman chanting
9. Man wearing hat with text reading (Hebrew:) "The captain is sinking the ship"
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rotem Volk, protester:
“It will start first of all when Bibi Netanyahu won't be Prime Minister and won't be in the political life, and I want to believe this when he will be gone, the healing will start. But there’s a lot of work to do.”
11. Various of protesters waving flags
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ruti Vaserman, 32, student:
“What they want now with these new laws, they want to control Bagatz (the Supreme Court) and make it political. And we are not going to let it happen. We want a real democracy. We won’t let Bagatz be political.”
13. Various of police on horseback in riot gear surrounded by protesters
STORYLINE:
Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament and workers launched a nationwide strike on Monday, as a surging mass protest movement threatened to paralyze the economy in its efforts to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work.
Diplomats walked off the job at foreign missions, local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also strike.
The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at the prime minister’s decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul.
Demonstrators gathered again Monday outside the Knesset, or parliament, turning the streets surrounding the building and the Supreme Court into a roiling sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags dotted with rainbow Pride banners.
Large demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities drew thousands more.
It was unclear how Netanyahu would respond to the growing pressure.
Some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party said they would support the prime minister if he did heed calls to halt the overhaul, while Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported that he could indeed pause it.
AP video shot by Sam McNeil
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