Mass protests in Israel: Hear from The CJN on the ground for the “Day of Disruption” in Jerusalem

It was billed as a “Day of Disruption” in Israel as protesters blockaded the country’s main airport, hundreds of army reservists threatened to refuse to serve, and police arrested at least 77 demonstrators across the country. Although Israel has seen 27 straight weeks of political turmoil, Israelis have taken to the streets in massive numbers this week in a revitalized round of protests. These were called after the Netanyahu government gave first reading Monday to a law that would curb the power of Israel’s Supreme Court to use the so-called “reasonableness” test to overrule lawmakers’ policies. Amid all the flag-waving, drumming and horn-blowing, The CJN Daily producer Zachary Kauffman, who’s in Jerusalem studying at a yeshiva this month, is in the thick of it—literally. He’s even staying in the same apartment complex where the Netanyahus live. So Kauffman grabbed his microphone to hear from protesters, and now joins the show to share stories from professor Veronika Cohen, who used to teach in Calgary; Amos Guiora, an American-Israeli law professor from Utah; and Chaviva Sheffer, an environmental lawyer at Reichman University in Herzliya.

What we talked about

• Hear more about Zachary Kauffman’s course of study and the mood in Jerusalem after the Jenin raids, on Bonjour Chai
• What former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett thinks his country needs to do now, to save itself, in The CJN
• Vivian Bercovici and Aron Heller explain the significance of Israel’s historic protests, from March 2023, on The CJN Daily

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our intern is Ashok Lamichhane (@jesterschest on Twitter).Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.