Several of the leaders of the anti-judicial reform protest movement have joined the left-wing Democrats party, formalising a long-term political affiliation.
Moshe Radman and Ami Dror, along with a number of other prominent activists, were welcomed into the party at the Knesset by its leader, veteran leftist MK Yair Golan.
The pair were key figures in the protests, which saw thousands of Israelis take to the streets to oppose the Netanyahu government’s contentious overhauls to the judiciary in 2023.
The measures, introduced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would see the government take control of judicial appointments and allow the Knesset to override the Supreme Court in the event that legislation passed by MKs was ruled to be unconstitutional.
Large street protests were common between January and October 2023, placing significant political pressure on the government.
But the demonstrations were paused following the October 7 attacks and have not resumed at any large scale throughout the Gaza War, while the proposed reforms were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2024.
Several members of the prime minister’s Likud party have previously suggested that the instability caused by the protests was a factor in Hamas’ decision to attack, with one Likud MK, Tally Gotliv, even suggesting there were links between the movement’s leadership and the terror group.
Gotliv was publicly rebuked by Netanyahu for her comments, but was recently appointed to the influential Knesset Defence Committee after the party ousted one of its own members, Yuli Edelstein.
Radman and Dror were joined by Danny Elgarat, a prominent voice among hostage relatives after his brother Itzik was abducted by Hamas on October 7 and murdered in Gaza.
Welcoming the new members, Golan said: “Tonight, the most natural and necessary transition in the past three years is happening.
"The Democrats is the home for everyone who took to the streets, for anyone concerned about the fate of the country.”
He also hinted that the new cohort could compete for the party’s Knesset slate at the upcoming elections, due by October, adding: “Today, we are opening the doors of the party to new members. We have open primaries for everyone, with many excellent candidates.”
Explaining his decision to join, Radman said the protest movement remained a “a badge of honor for Israeli civil society”, but that he felt Israeli politics needed “a bold ideological alternative to the forever wars and the corrupt rule of the messianic right”.
He went on: “I call on everyone who has marched with us in the streets over the past three years with a flag to fight for Israeli democracy.
"We are in a decisive period: a choice between good and evil, between a liberal, equal, thriving democracy and a messianic theocracy, between the collapse of the Zionist project and an upgraded version.”
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