Hundreds of students protested outside a conference attended by Constitution Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman at Israel's Tel Aviv University on Sunday morning.
Rothman, along with Justice Minister Yariv Levin, has been the driving force behind the judicial reform legislation since the current government was sworn in back in January.
The protest was organized by the Student Protest Movement, who, in a statement ahead of the demonstration said: "We hear the coalition members explicitly say that the judicial overhaul will be carried out. So we’re here to remind Rothman this morning – we won’t let this happen."
"Stop the overhaul now," they added.
"When your argument is weak, you raise your voice. You don't have the ability to deal with things intellectually so you deal with it by bullying. You are limited. You don't have intellectual capacity so you shout."
MK Simcha Rothman
While Rothman was inside the conference, demonstrators plastered his car with stickers representing various anti-government protest movements, with one attendee sharing a short video of the adorned car with the caption: "Cars of the thieving government."
רכבי ממשלת הביזה! pic.twitter.com/VUBdi4cnhC
— Ami Dror עמי דרור (@AmiDror) May 28, 2023
Inside the conference, where protesters waited for him as well, Rothman addressed the situation, saying: "There are people here who are unable to hear viewpoints that are not their own. They think they are in favor of democracy but keep everyone else's mouths shut.
"When your argument is weak, you raise your voice," he continued. "You don't have the ability to deal with things intellectually so you deal with it by bullying. You are limited. You don't have intellectual capacity so you shout."
Protests across Israel continue without sign of slowing
On Saturday night, some 235,000 people took to the streets of Israel for the 21st week in a row in a show of protest against the government.
Demonstrations were held over a hundred towns, squares, and junctions throughout the country with the central demonstration held on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, as they have been for the last several months.