Israeli President Reuven Rivlin looks on during consultations with party representatives on who might form the next coalition government, at the President’s residence in Jerusalem April 5, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/Pool

i24 News – Some 60,000 Israelis turned out in central Tel Aviv on Sunday in support of the government’s judicial reform, just as in the capital Jerusalem a mass rally against the reform was taking place.

Monday will see the beginning of voting in parliament to ratify the first of a package of reforms in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly contested judicial overhaul, which has ignited months of nationwide protests and concern abroad for Israel’s democracy.

Critics say the amendment is being rushed through parliament and will open the door to abuses of power, while proponents argue that the measure is necessary to curb judicial overreach.

At the Jerusalem rally, former President Reuven Rivlin — known as a political rival of Netanyahu — broke his silence on the hot-button topic, saying that he turned up so that Israelis “could be saved from a bad moment that is unprecedented in the history of the country.”

He further added that “there is only one person who can prevent our dear country from disaster, and his name is Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi, stop at once the entire legislative process. Our Jewish and democratic state should be the top priority.”