The Three Biggest Misconceptions About Israel’s Upheaval

For the past three months, Israelis have been protesting across the country against the attempted overhaul of their judicial system by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition. In February, a survey found that nearly one in five Israelis had taken part in a demonstration. This unprecedented activism culminated in a national strike at the end of March that compelled Netanyahu to pause, but not abandon, his efforts to push through the legislation. Today, representatives of the two sides sat down to continue negotiations toward a potential compromise. Yet despite all the coverage these events have rightly received, I’ve noticed a fair number of fallacies circulating about why they came about and what’s driving them.

Myth 1: The protests are about whether Israel should reform its judiciary.