Hundreds of workers in the tech sector held a one-hour warning strike on Tuesday, blocking roads in central Tel Aviv as they protested the government\u2019s contentious plans to overhaul the judicial system.<\/p>\n
Dozens of Israeli companies and organizations granted permission for their workers to attend demonstrations held around the country.<\/p>\n
Protesters gathered at three main locations \u2014 the Sarona complex in Tel Aviv, a high-tech complex in Herzliya and the Airport City business park \u2014 many of them carrying Israeli flags.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout democracy, there is no high tech. Even without ChatGPT, we know that you are wrong,\u201d read some of the signs held by the striking workers, referencing the artificial intelligence tool. Others read: \u201cNo freedom, no high tech.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High Court of Justice is protecting us all,\u201d some demonstrators chanted.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tSign up for the Tech Israel Daily<\/span> Toward the end of the hour-long strike, demonstrators around Tel Aviv\u2019s Sarona complex went onto busy Kaplan Street \u2014 the site of one of Saturday\u2019s mass protests \u2014 where they briefly blocked traffic.<\/p>\n Tech workers block a street to protest judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, on January 24, 2023 (Tomer Neuberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The planned overhaul has drawn intense criticism, even from longtime proponents of judicial reform, and has sparked weekly mass protests and public petitions by various officials, professionals, private companies and other bodies.<\/p>\n Over 100,000 people demonstrated against the overhaul in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, with thousands more at other demonstrations including in Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not every day that we see high-tech men and women, and many more from the private sector, who pause their work to wave a warning flag together because our democracy is in danger. And if democracy is in danger, the economy is in danger,\u201d said Yinon Costica, co-founder of Israeli software giant Wix, who spoke at the protest. \u201cOur concern is the trust of foreign investors, foreign clients and foreign workers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat same trust that was built with great labor can very easily fade away because of one very bad piece of legislation that overrides the courts,\u201d Costica said.<\/p>\n Among the other companies that allowed employees to join the protest against the legislative changes advanced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin were Lemonade, Natural Intelligence, Wiz, Redis, HoneyBook and Forter.<\/p>\n The strike came as many Israeli companies, moneymakers, and business organizations have in recent weeks publicly voiced<\/a> their concern that the judicial overhaul plan is poised to threaten democracy and harm the thriving local tech industry.<\/p>\n Many fear that a weakening of the judiciary system will mean foreign investors may shy away from funding companies in the country, and force businesses to leave and set up shop elsewhere.<\/p>\n As presented by Levin, the coalition\u2019s proposals would severely restrict the High Court\u2019s capacity to strike down laws and government decisions, with an \u201coverride clause\u201d enabling the Knesset to re-legislate struck-down laws with a bare majority of 61; give the government complete control over the selection of judges; prevent the court from using a test of \u201creasonableness\u201d to judge legislation and government decisions; and allow ministers to appoint their own legal advisers, instead of getting counsel from advisers operating under the aegis of the Justice Ministry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Levin has called the proposals \u201cthe first stage\u201d of his planned overhaul; further changes<\/a> would reportedly be enacted at a later stage.<\/p>\n Israeli workers stage a one-hour strike against in Tel Aviv against government\u2019s judicial overhaul plan. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cNinety percent of the funds invested in [Israeli] high-tech comes from abroad and are at stake here,\u201d Costica said. \u201cWithout these investments, high-tech will suffer a fatal blow and the tens of billions of shekels of tax money that funded the security, health, education and welfare of every citizen will evaporate.\u201d<\/p>\n New York-based investment and private equity firm Insight Partners, which has become one of the largest investors in Israeli startups in recent years, sent a letter on Monday to its Israeli portfolio companies expressing its position regarding the \u201cpolitical unrest unfolding in Israel,\u201d and support of \u201cthe high-tech ecosystem in Israel as they speak out in support of democracy, equality and equal opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful for the open dialog with our Israeli portfolio companies who have reached out to us to share their concerns,\u201d Insight Partners wrote. \u201cWe uphold the principles of democracy, equality, and equal opportunity, and we denounce acts that seek to stifle personal freedoms or acts of hatred, violence, or discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n Two former Bank of Israel governors, Karnit Flug and Jacob Frenkel, said<\/a> this week that the government\u2019s plans for a sweeping overhaul of the country\u2019s judiciary could negatively affect Israel\u2019s credit rating and \u201cdeal a severe blow to the economy and its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Channel 12 news reported Monday that Bank of Israel governor Amir Yaron is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concerns about the possible impact, noting that the bank had sent the Finance Ministry a list of concerns raised by international ratings agencies.<\/p>\n
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