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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ISRAEL PROTESTS
HEADLINE: Israel’s Protests Escalate after First Part of Judicial Overhaul Passes
TEASER: Tens of thousands of Israelis have blocked roads and say they will continue to protest the changes they say are a threat to democracy
PUBLISHED: 7/25/2023 Tuesday at 11:18pm
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
DATELINE: Jerusalem
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen, Agency, Courtesy
PRODUCER: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, AFP, Israel Government Press Office, Noa
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X__ RADIO _ __
TRT: 3:05
VID APPROVED BY: Bill Ide
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: Email edits to lindagradstein@gmail.com and rickirosen1@gmail.com
Web desk, please post camera credit for Ricki Rosen))
((INTRO)) [[Protests have escalated in Israel following Monday’s passage of a law to restrict judicial power, a move that critics say threatens democracy. Tens of thousands of Israelis have blocked roads and say they will continue to protest. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.]]
((VIDEO: KNESSET VOTE VS SUPREME COURT))
((Mandatory cg: Knesset TV))
((VIDEO: NETANYAHU IN KNESSET DURING VOTE))
((Mandatory cg: Knesset TV))
((NARRATOR))
The law to limit the Supreme Court’s power to overturn government ministers’ decisions passed 64 to zero after the opposition boycotted the final vote in the Israeli parliament.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said critics of the bill are overreacting.
((Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister - male in Hebrew, NEEDS VOICEOVER)) ((Mandatory cg: Israel Government Press Office))
[[RADIO VERSION: He said that Israel will continue to be democratic and liberal and will safeguard individual rights of all citizens.]]
“Israel must remain a strong democracy. It will preserve individual rights for all. The judiciary will continue to be independent and no one side will control it.”
((VIDEO: PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE AFTER KNESSET VOTE, AFP))
((NARRATOR))
But many disagree, fearing this is only the first step in a process of taking power away from the Supreme Court and consolidating it in the hands of the right-wing government.
After the law passed, the protests escalated with tens of thousands of protesters blocking roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and clashing with police officers. Police used water cannons and horses to disperse the protestors, arresting and injuring several people.
While Israel has seen large-scale protests in the past, observers say there has not been a sustained movement that lasted more than six months like this one.
[[Radio Version: David Horovits is the editor in chief of the Times of Israel.]]
((David Horovitz, Times of Israel Editor-in-Chief, male in English - VOA))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“These protests are different. I think the stakes are different and the participation is different. So, the bottom line is, certainly for the people leading and many of the people participating in the protests, there’s a belief that the current Israeli government is bent on remaking, not merely Israeli policies and political agenda, but the way Israel is governed.”
((VIDEO: PROTEST MARCH AND RALLY IN JERUSALEM ON WEEKEND BEFORE KNESSET VOTE, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
Seven months of mass demonstrations against the judicial overhaul hit a new peak in the last week before the vote, as tens of thousands marched from Tel Aviv to the parliament in Jerusalem.
[[RADIO VERSION: Protestor Nurit Binyamini.]]
((Nurit Binyamini, Anti-Government Protester, female in English VOA))
“We have to do everything we can in order to keep our democracy and this is what we can do, and it will be a pity if our government will ignore all these people who are coming here to Jerusalem and that are protesting all around Israel.”
((VIDEO: ARMY RESERVISTS PROTEST GOVERNMENT’S JUDICIAL OVERHAUL, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
Besides the demonstrations, more than 10,000 Israeli army reservists, including hundreds in elite units, say they will stop reporting for volunteer reserve duty if the judicial overhaul laws are passed.
They say they refuse to serve a non-democratic regime. Military leaders warn that the reservists’ refusal to report would harm Israel’s ability to fight in a future conflict.
((REST OPT))
((RADIO VERSION: Jonathan Golan is from a group known as the Brothers in Arms Movement.))
((Jonathan Golan, Brothers in Arms Movement - male in English VOA))
“I’m older so I no longer do active service, but both my sons who are actively in the reserves have signed an affidavit that they will stop serving. My friends who are here around us have all signed that they will stop serving because none of us who are liberal democrats want to be in the armed forces of a dictatorship.”
((VIDEO: ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS, AFP))
((NARRATOR))
Proponents of the judicial overhaul say the law just passed is only the first step of their reform package. Opponents have already appealed to the Supreme Court against the law and say they will continue their protests until the judicial overhaul is scrapped.
[[Linda Gradstein, for VOA News, Jerusalem]]
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Jerusalem
Embargo DateJuly 26, 2023 03:26 EDT
BylineLinda Gradstein
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
