They thronged the platforms of major train stations, waving Israeli flags, creating a sea of blue and white next to railways across central Israel. They blocked highways, tunnels and an access road to the headquarters of the Israeli military. They rallied outside the homes of government ministers, banged on the glass doors of the Tel Aviv stock exchange and chanted outside a branch of the United States Embassy.
Despite temperatures climbing higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the country, thousands of Israelis held dozens of rallies across central Israel on Tuesday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to finalize a law next week that would limit the power of the Supreme Court.
In what has become a regular weekly episode of disruption, demonstrators marched through several cities in a renewed effort to stop the government proceeding with a binding vote on the law in Parliament, which is likely to come on Monday. This is the 28th consecutive week of protest against the judicial plan.
Some held huge roadside banners that read “Netanyahu divides the nation,” while others displayed a giant picture of Theodor Herzl, a founding father of modern Zionism, emblazoned with the slogan: “This is not what I meant.”
One group hung a giant version of the Israeli declaration of independence from a highway flyover, and another lay down on an access road to the headquarters of the Israeli Army in Tel Aviv, briefly blocking traffic. Residents of retirement communities, some of them using walkers, protested in the roads outside their homes.
And women’s rights activists — dressed in crimson robes inspired by characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the novel about a totalitarian patriarchal state by Margaret Atwood that was made into a television series — rallied in Raanana, in central Israel.
By the afternoon, the police said that they had arrested 37 protesters for violating public order. Officers also massed outside several train stations, trying to stop protesters from gathering on the platforms, leading to confrontation.
Protesters fear the proposed law would undermine democracy by reducing judicial oversight over the cabinet, allow greater government overreach and pave the way for a more conservative, religious and patriarchal society. Mr. Netanyahu’s government says that the plan would improve democracy by making elected lawmakers less beholden to unelected judges.
A date for the meeting was not set, and the offer stopped short of an invitation to the White House itself. But the news still came as a blow to the protesters, who had hoped that Mr. Biden would use his influence over Mr. Netanyahu to persuade him to suspend the legislative process.
The U.S. government is a major ally of Israel, providing it with nearly $4 billion in annual aid, as well as weapons and defense systems, and systematic diplomatic cover at the United Nations Security Council.
Mr. Biden welcomed President Isaac Herzog of Israel to the White House on Tuesday. The meeting with Mr. Herzog, whose position is largely ceremonial, is another sign of strong ties between the two countries.
An alliance of protest movements — whose membership includes groups of authors, economists, political scientists and social workers — published an open letter to Congress on Tuesday, calling on U.S. lawmakers to take a strong stance against Mr. Netanyahu’s domestic policies. And crowds gathered on Tuesday evening outside the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv to demand Mr. Biden place more pressure on Mr. Netanyahu.
Absent further U.S. intervention, the protest movement is trying to exert domestic pressure on Mr. Netanyahu through the labor unions and military reservists. Thousands of members of the Israeli military reserve have threatened to withdraw from volunteer duty if the law goes ahead — a move that could affect the operational capacity of key military sectors, particularly the Air Force, which relies heavily on reserve pilots.
Israel’s main labor union, the Histadrut, says it may organize a general strike to protest the law, a prospect that helped bring about the suspension of an earlier legislative push in March.
But the union has yet to officially confirm its position. To pressure it into joining their cause, some protesters rallied outside the Histadrut headquarters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
The Israeli Medical Association, a union of around 30,000 doctors, announced its members would scale back medical work for two hours on Wednesday in protest at the judicial legislation.
“We will do everything we can in order to minimize the impact on patients,” said Leah Wapner, the association’s chief executive.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting from Rehovot, Israel.
