A statement from the Israel Reform Movement and IRAC the Israel Religious Action Center in response to today’s dramatic events:

לְמַ֤עַן צִיּוֹן֙ לֹ֣א אֶחֱשֶׁ֔ה וּלְמַ֥עַן יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם לֹ֣א אֶשְׁק֑וֹט

For the sake of Zion I will not be silent,

For the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still,

– Isaiah 62: 1

The passage of the law to cancel the reasonableness doctrine is a severe blow to Israeli democracy, to the rule of law, and to human rights. The fact that the law was passed so close to Tisha B’Av shows that the Israeli Government has learned nothing about the need to fight extremism and bigotry.

However, the protests of the past months have proved the strength of the liberal Israeli public and have shown that the majority of the Israeli public opposes extremism and the weakening of the court system.

We will continue to raise the voice of the liberal public in Israel and throughout the world, to fight against the dangerous initiatives of the government, and to fight for a Jewish and democratic Israel that respects the rights of all its citizens and serves as a home to all the Jewish people.