On the evening of April 27, a rally of supporters of the judicial reform initiated by Benjamin Netanyahu was held near the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.. This action was the largest with the participation of the right in almost two decades..

According to various estimates, between 100,000 and 200,000 Israelis took part in the action, although the organizers, according to a law enforcement source for The Times of Israel, expected at least half a million participants..

Protesters from all over Israel, as well as settlers bussed in from the occupied West Bank, chanted slogans in support of the government and upcoming legislative changes, danced and sang ahead of the Knesset's summer session starting Sunday..

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the rally but took to Twitter to thank the protesters, writing that their passion and patriotism "

Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke at the demonstration.

" They have the media and the moguls that fund the protests, but we have the nation,” he said..

Since the beginning of the year, protests against judicial reform have taken place in different cities of the country.. Some of them drew over 150,000 people, making them the largest protest movement in Israeli history..

One of the main disputes of the scandalous reform is the desire of the ruling coalition to gain more powers in the appointment of judges, including the Supreme Court..

Critics consider such a government initiative a threat to the independence of the judiciary and an attempted coup..

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Netanyahu, who is on trial on allegations of corruption although he denies them, says reforms are needed to balance the branches of government. His Likud party and political allies on the far right called on their political cells to stage counter-demonstrations..

A February poll commissioned by the Jewish People's Policy Institute found that while 84% of Israelis believe the judiciary needs to be changed, only one in four support the government's proposals as they are..

Israel has never seen such large-scale protests. The reform of the judiciary, fixed in the coalition agreement, opened a Pandora's box. In parallel with the legal reform, the Netanyahu government plans to pass a number of laws that, according to experts, pose a threat to the very existence of liberal democracy.. What this can lead to, Igor Semivolos argues in the article “The split in Israel: will the worst forecasts come true”.