Israel's hi-tech sector kicks off Economic Resistance Day protests

These protests began the day after a mass demonstration against judicial reform was held at Ben-Gurion Airport at Terminal 3.

 Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest by Israel's hi-tech sector, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, March 14. 2023. The banner reads "Without democracy there is no hi-tech".  (photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest by Israel's hi-tech sector, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, March 14. 2023. The banner reads "Without democracy there is no hi-tech".
(photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)

Protests against the proposed Israeli judicial reform were launched in the hi-tech sector nationwide on Tuesday, with protest leaders calling it an "Economic Resistance Day."

Dozens of demonstrators in Tel Aviv marched from the Sarona neighborhood to the Government Complex in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning, Ynet reported.

"While the coalition is racing towards a dictatorship, evidence of economic damage is piling up. We are all paying, and we will pay for it out of our own pockets for years to come," leaders of the hi-tech workers' protest stated.

"The government does not care that we groan under the weight of the rising cost of living, just as it does not care that the hi-tech sector, the main growth lever of the economy, is falling apart.

"While the coalition is racing towards a dictatorship, evidence of economic damage is piling up. We are all paying, and we will pay for it out of our own pockets for years to come."

Hi-tech workers protest leaders

"Those whose economic future is important to them must go to the streets and call on the government to shelve the legislation and start rehabilitating the economy," they continued.

The day after the Ben-Gurion Airport anti-judicial reform protest

These protests began the day after a mass demonstration was held at Ben-Gurion Airport at Terminal 3, which included thousands of protesters - with police arresting nearly 40. Protesters at the scene were shouting in Hebrew: "Democracy" and waving Israeli flags and Declaration of Independence banners.

 Israelis protest and clash with police during a protest against the Israeli government's planned judicial overhaul, at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, July 3, 2023 (credit: AMNON HORESH)
Israelis protest and clash with police during a protest against the Israeli government's planned judicial overhaul, at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, July 3, 2023 (credit: AMNON HORESH)

Additionally, demonstrators also sang the Israeli national anthem "Hatikva" in response to police at the scene demanding them to leave, the protesters said. Documentation at the scene showed police carrying and dragging away protesters.

Michael Starr and Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.