TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to be airlifted on Thursday to the country’s main international airport for an official overseas trip, after throngs of cars and protesters prevented him from driving there.
The demonstrations were part of nationwide protests underway for more than two months against his contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Protesters had made blocking Netanyahu’s route to the airport a centerpiece of their intensifying efforts to oppose the legal changes, and the optics of the Israeli leader having to make alternate travel plans were a win for the demonstrators.
The helicopter ride, far from the snarling traffic triggered by the protest, was also sure to deepen Netanyahu’s reputation as being out of touch with Israelis at a time when the country finds itself torn apart over the government plan and the economy is slowing.
Thursday’s disruptions also took a toll on visiting US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin, whose schedule was rearranged to keep his engagements close to the airport.
The protesters, launching a “day of resistance to dictatorship,” descended on the country’s main international airport waving Israeli flags, blocking the road leading to the departures area with their cars.
Elsewhere, protesters blocked main intersections and scuffled with police in the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv and other cities. A small flotilla of paddleboards and kayaks tried to close off a main maritime shipping lane off the northern city of Haifa. Some protesters barricaded the Jerusalem offices of a conservative think tank helping to spearhead the judicial changes.
“Israel is on the verge of becoming an autocratic country. The current government is trying to destroy our democracy, and actually destroy the country,” said Savion Or, a protester in Tel Aviv.
Ruinous effects
The uproar over Netanyahu’s legal overhaul has plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises. Beyond the protests, which have drawn tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets and recently became violent , opposition has surged from across society, with business leaders and legal officials speaking out against what they say will be the ruinous effects of the plan. The rift has not spared Israel’s military, which is seeing unprecedented opposition from within its own ranks.
Netanyahu, who took office in late December after a protracted political stalemate, and his allies say the measures aim to rein in a court that has overstepped its authority. Critics say the overhaul will upset the delicate system of checks and balances and slide Israel toward authoritarianism.
Critics also say Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, is driven by personal grievances and that he could find an escape route from the charges through the overhaul. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, and says the legal changes have nothing to do with his trial.
Demonstrations were underway across the country as Netanyahu and his allies have pledged to press ahead with a series of bills that would strip the Supreme Court of its ability to review legislation and give coalition politicians control over judicial appointments. An attempt by Israel’s ceremonial president to defuse the crisis through an alternative legal reform has so far been unsuccessful.
Netanyahu, who was meeting Austin before his departure, arrived to the airport in a police helicopter, circumventing the protesters, Israeli media reported. Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.
Regular flights were not interrupted, an airport spokeswoman said, although some travelers said they had to leave their cars behind the protesters’ convoy and reach the terminal by foot.
In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica ahead of the trip, Netanyahu played down the protests and vowed to push ahead with his programme.
