Major protests have hit Jerusalem Monday with hundreds of thousands set to converge on the Knesset and Supreme Court to voice their thoughts on the Israeli government’s planned judicial reforms. This is also set to see major pubilc transportation issues due to limited and crowded buses, trains and light rails, as well as street closures. But what does the average person on the streets of Israel’s capital think about all this?
To find out, The Jerusalem Post asked around and took a trip to the bustling alleyways of Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market to see what today’s shoppers and vendors think about judicial reform and massive protests.
And despite the sheer number of protesters in a politically charged atmosphere, the marketplace was as bustling as ever.
Anti-judicial reform sentiments in the marketplace
Right away, some anti-reform sentiments were evident.
“The time has come!” one shopkeeper declared, welcoming the protests.
Protestors gather on a Tel Aviv highway to demonstrate against the judicial reform. (credit: BLACK FLAGS MOVEMENT)“Israel must be a democracy and it must be that way in the court, the government and everywhere else.”
Despite being so passionate about his views, the shopkeeper refused to go to the protest. “Why don’t I go to the protest? Because I have to work,” he explained, noting that “this country is only a democracy for those with enough money.”
“This country is only a democracy for those with enough money.”
Mahane Yehuda shopkeeper
“This country is only a democracy for those with enough money.”
One group of American tourists also expressed their opposition to judicial reform.
“If they go through with it, they’re going to have a real problem with American Jews,” one of them said. However, she noted that the resulting public transportation issues didn’t bother her. “None of it’s bothered me today. I haven’t come across any issues where I am so far.”
What do people think of Netanyahu?
Some others expressed support of both the reform and of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who historically has been popular in the Mahane Yehuda market.
“Everything will all work out in the end,” one shopkeeper said. “This is still the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
However, this opinion wasn’t universal.
“Netanyahu? A leftist!” another vendor said. “He’s a puppet dancing for the coalition.”
Protesters flock to Mahane Yehuda before going to the Knesset
But also present at the marketplace that day were protesters, gathering here before heading off to the Knesset or Supreme Court.
“The judicial reform isn’t good,” one veteran protester from Tel Aviv explained. “If there are problems, don’t just throw everything out. You need to fix them.”
“Which side am I on? This side,” one protester said while hoisting an Israeli flag.
“I’m a Jerusalemite, though I now live in Jaffa and I grew up in a Likud family, a revisionsit family raised on Ze’ev Jabotinsky,” he said. “What’s happening today in the Knesset goes against what the Likud used to be.”
He continued: “There are security issues, an economic crisis. What they’re dealing withn now isn’t their first priority.”
This protester also refused to call it a judicial reform, but a revolution.
“It’s not a reform, it’s a revolution,” he said. “A reform comes to fix things. This has come to ruin it.”
“It’s not a reform, it’s a revolution. A reform comes to fix things. This has come to ruin it.”
Protester
“It’s not a reform, it’s a revolution. A reform comes to fix things. This has come to ruin it.”
As a born and raised Jerusalemite, he expressed his sympathies for the transportation issues but doubled down on its necessity.
“Protests aren’t comfortable,” he said.
Protests cause public transportation issues, causing problems for some in Jerusalem
But others bemoaned just how much the protests are interfering with their day-to-day life trying to get to work. One bat sherut (National Service worker) expressed as much after a difficult commute to work from her nearby Sherut Leumi (National Service) apartment.
“The bus stops were busier, and you could tell people were getting a little pushier, possibly because several buses were canceled and extremely delayed,” she explained.
“The real challenge will be commuting back tonight. I expect the light rails will get even more crowded, something a busy bat sherut does not have time for.”
And she wasn’t alone.
“I left the house around 9 a.m. but I got to work at around 12,” explained one woman who commutes to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv every day for work. “What should have been one and a half hours took three. I tried to get on multiple trains but they were all full… People had to be transferred to other trains because they were so packed, people weren’t able to get off at stops before Jerusalem.”
Despite this, the commuter said that she fully supported the protests and said the atmosphere on the trains was pleasant. “Everyone seemed happy,” she explained. “There was a good vibe on the train.”