JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Early on Thursday Moshe Peretz and his team of volunteers gathered outside his Tel Aviv apartment block for what has become a regular activity – flag-making.
The group say they have made more than half a million of them, distributed to protesters marching against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul drive, and production is not stopping, despite Netanyahu putting legislation on ice.
“Israel won’t be a dictatorship. This is not our way,” said Peretz. “All the rules they’re trying to put in (parliament), the crazy ideas. We will protest against it every day until we stop (them).”
The judicial reform plans of the ruling religious-nationalist coalition have sparked unprecedented protests across Israel. Netanyahu’s government is now in talks with opposition parties over a compromise.
Some protesters are unconvinced Netanyahu – who is on trial for corruption charges he denies – will reach agreements and say he is seeking to curb judicial independence. Netanyahu says judicial changes are needed to strengthen democracy.
(Reporting by Natalie Thomas; editing by Maytaal Angel and Alex Richardson)
