Israelis protest judicial reform

Thousands of Israelis blocked roads and demonstrated against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to limit the power of the judiciary.

Thousands of Israelis blocked major highways and held dozens of rallies in central Israel on Tuesday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to finalize legislation next week that would limit the power of the Supreme Court.

Despite temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, protesters marched through several cities in a renewed effort to prevent government to take a binding vote on the law in parliament, which is expected to take place on Monday.

Some held huge banners on the side of the road that read "Netanyahu is dividing the nation", while others displayed a giant photo of Theodor Herzl, a founding father of modern Zionism, sporting the slogan: "That's not what I meant."

A group hung a giant version of the Israeli Declaration of Independence to a flyover of the highway, and another blocked the gates of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Women's rights activists - dressed in crimson dresses inspired by characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," a novel by Margaret Atwood about a patriarchal, totalitarian state turned into a TV series - gathered in Ra'anana, central Israel.

At mid-morning, police announced that they had arrested 17 protesters for disturbing public order.

Protesters fear the law will undermine democracy by reducing judicial control over the cabinet, allowing greater reach of government and paving the way for a more conservative, religious and patriarchal society. Mr Netanyahu's government says the plan would improve democracy by making elected lawmakers less beholden to unelected judges.

The protests took place just hours after President Biden has invited Mr. Netanyahu to a meeting in the United States in the coming months, months after Mr. Biden said he would not meet with the prime minister "in the near term".

< figure class="img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group">ImageDespite high temperatures, protesters marched in several cities.Credit...Jack Guez/Agence France- Press — Getty Images

A date for the meeting has not been set, and the offer stopped short of an invitation to the White House itself. But the news still came as a blow to protesters, who had hoped that Mr. Biden would use his influence on Mr. Netanyahu to persuade him to suspend the legislative process.

The US government is a major ally of Israel, providing nearly $4 billion in annual aid, as well as weapons and defense systems, and routine diplomatic cover at the United Nations Security Council united.

Mr. Biden is expected to welcome Israeli President figurehead Isaac Herzog to the White House on Tuesday in another sign of strong US-Israeli ties. The protest movement is trying to exert domestic pressure on Mr Netanyahu through trade unions and military reservists. Thousands of members of Israel's military reserve have threatened to withdraw from volunteer service if the law is enforced - a move that could affect the operational capability of key military sectors, particularly the air force, which depends heavily reserve pilots.

Israel...