The economic shutdown, including a rally before the Knesset in Jerusalem, comes on the day that overhaul legislation that could grant nearly unlimited power to the government is set to be brought to vote
A nationwide economic shutdown in protest of the Netanyahu-led government’s plans to subordinate Israel’s judiciary to the government kicks off on Monday morning, including a mass rally in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem.
The call for a general strike was initiated by leaders of the ongoing protests against the government, who said they will demonstrate outside the Knesset at the same time that the government is slated to bring parts of the overhaul plan before the parliament for a first vote.
The heads of the opposition parties – Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, the National Union Party’s Benny Gantz, Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Liberman and the Labor Party’s Merav Michaeli – released a statement on Sunday reading “This is an emergency. We will not allow for the destruction of the State of Israel.” According to the statement, they will be delivering a joint address in the Knesset at 1:30 P.M. on Monday.
The Jerusalem rally is slated to start at 10 A.M. at the Western Wall plaza, where protest movement leaders said they will hold a prayer to save democracy. From noon onwards, tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather outside the Knesset. The organizers said that hundreds of buses will bring demonstrators from all over the country. Central roads will be blocked throughout the capital ahead of the demonstration.
On Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to allow all Israeli workers to strike and come to Jerusalem: “Employers must allow every worker who wants to go up to Jerusalem and fight for the country, fight for our democracy and say no more, we will not let you destroy our democracy.”
Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon echoed Lapid’s call to employers, saying “We will shut down the economy and go to Jerusalem calling to stop the dictatorship. I ask factory owners and managers, organizations and companies to allow their workers to strike.”
Hebrew University in Jerusalem released a letter on Sunday encouraging its community to protest on Monday, and generally “to be part of the democratic struggle against the attempt to turn Israel into a state where there is a ruling tyranny and a government, whether from the right or the left, can do as it pleases without a body to balance its power.”
The letter was signed by Hebrew University President Asher Cohen and rector Prof. Tamir Sheafer.
Dror Wahrman, president of the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, explained that he would join the workers’ strike on Monday, saying Israel “is about to change its face beyond recognition, and in a way that may very well be irreversible.
“The slope toward autocracy is often slippery and fast, and past experience shows that quick and decisive action by civil society in the beginning is critical in slowing down the process,” he said.
Tel Aviv University’s humanities faculty announced that it would allow humanities students to make up exams scheduled for Monday at another date, in order to allow students to participate in the strike.
Hospitals and health maintenance organizations (HMO) are expected to provide services as normal on Monday – including non-urgent care.
Dr. Rani Barnea, one of the leaders of the White Coats protest movement of health care workers, said, however, that “About 5,000 doctors and mental health care workers are active in the protest now. Most of us are not planning to be in the wards tomorrow and the department heads in the hospitals are allowing it.”
On Thursday, over 500 teachers appealed to heads of the teachers’ unions to join in the strike.
The Aguda Association for LGBTQ Equality announced its intention to join the protests in Jerusalem and its support for the call to shut down the economy. The Movement for Quality Government announced it would also join Monday’s protest at the Knesset.
Shira Kadari-Ovadia and Ido Efrati contributed to this report.