Large anti-reform protest to be held at Ben-Gvir’s Kiryat Arba home

Maridim, which organizes weekly protests outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence has organized the rally and has arranged for buses to go to Itamar Ben-Gvir's home.

 Anti judicial reform activists protest against the judicial overhaul and and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening ceremony of the light rail, in Petah Tikva, August 17, 2023 (photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Anti judicial reform activists protest against the judicial overhaul and and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening ceremony of the light rail, in Petah Tikva, August 17, 2023
(photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A major protest at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Kiryat Arba home is planned for Friday morning, protest groups notified on Tuesday.

Maridim, which organizes weekly protests outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence has organized the rally and has arranged for buses to bring participants from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa.

At least 28 groups are involved in the demonstration, including Breaking the Silence, Standing Together, Peace Now, and Combatants for Peace.

"There is a growing awareness that the messianic settler movement is behind the judicial overhaul, and so it is imperative to protest in the West Bank outside the ministers' houses," the organizers said.

The police had not yet approved the event by Tuesday morning.

Security tensions are high in the Hebron region. Preschool teacher Batsheva Nigri, 42, was murdered in a terrorist drive-by shooting attack at the nearby Beit Hagai intersection on Monday.

 Israelis attend a protest march in Bnei Brak against the billions in funds provided to ultra-Orthodox parties in the state budget, on May 17, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)
Israelis attend a protest march in Bnei Brak against the billions in funds provided to ultra-Orthodox parties in the state budget, on May 17, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

Other upcoming anti-judicial reform protests

Another protest touching on alleged religiously motivated components of the judicial reform was set for Thursday. Women's protest organizations planned a march from the Ayalon Mall to Bnei Brak, to demonstrate against a push to allegedly make Israel more religious and unequal.

The Kaplan Force said that laws were being advanced "for gender segregation, excluding women, perpetuating inequality in the burden, shutting down the light rail on Shabbat, and more." On Sunday the protest umbrella group Hofshei B'Artzenu opened a website detailing 225 different laws that it said were all of the “messianic dictatorship laws,” including 37 that it said were explicitly religious laws.

An opposing solidarity event hold an event on Thursday evening and will have speakers discussing rabbinical courts, gender segregation, cohabitation, domestic violence, and crime in Arab society.

"It is impossible for women's struggle to take place without the participation of ultra-Orthodox and Arab women, feminism does not belong only to the secular," said the event organizers. "Instead of blaming one public for another and sticking a finger in the eye, we must cooperate and understand that the responsibility lies with the elected officials and the leadership."