Israeli and American Jews, including many expat dual citizens, cluttered a main street Wednesday night on New York City’s Upper West Side to protest the presence of Kohelet Policy Forum head Moshe Koppel.
The Kohelet Policy Forum, which formulated the judicial reform proposals, is a Jerusalem-based Conservative think tank aimed at strengthening representative democracy.
Koppel was scheduled to speak at an event hosted by Aish New York’s Wisdom Society.
Opposition lawmakers and leftist protesters have continued to hold hysterical demonstrations against the reforms, claiming they will “turn Israel into a dictatorship” and will “kill democracy” in the Jewish State.
הפגנה נגד יו״ר קהלת, משה קופל, בעת נאומו בניו-יורק! ??
Credit: Roi Boshi#DefendIsraeliDemocracy#UnXeptable pic.twitter.com/J7YWllr0Ye
— Defend Israeli Democracy (@IsraeliDefend) March 23, 2023
NGO Monitor head Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg pointed out in a tweet last week, however, that it was also the Kohelet Policy Forum that also presented a compromise framework for the reforms and called on President Isaac Herzog to endorse the proposal in order to heal the public atmosphere.
“Our hope is that the reform will allow progress towards the adoption of a consensual constitution for the State of Israel, which will include a comprehensive Bill of Rights,” the think tank wrote.
Here is a translation of the Kohelet Policy Forum’s entire proposed compromise in English.
.@KoheletForum's statement regarding legal reform and efforts to reach a compromise- in English pic.twitter.com/U9Wq73oaM0
— Asher Fredman אשר פרדמן (@fredman_a) March 15, 2023
Typically, the organizers behind the protests have not been willing to discuss any compromise, regardless of whether it be with Herzog, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana or Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Happening now! Big protest of Moshe Koppel the chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum as he is about to speak in New York hosted by the “Jewish Wisdom society”. Kohelet is behind the ongoing right-wing judicial coup in Israel turning Israel into a dictatorship. pic.twitter.com/hpLCBHsOCk
— Gili Getz #SaveMasaferYatta (@giligetz) March 22, 2023
Instead, the demonstrators have been harassing Koppel at his various meetings while doing their best to disrupt daily life in Israel with road blocks and traffic slowdowns.
?Breaking! Israeli and American Jews are now protesting Moshe Koppel the chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum as he is about to speak in New York. Kohelet is behind the ongoing right-wing judicial coup in Israel turning Israel into a dictatorship for both Jews and Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/ISR82KzKPP
— Gili Getz #SaveMasaferYatta (@giligetz) March 22, 2023
On March 14, leftist protesters used barbed wire and sandbags to block the entrance to Kohelet Policy Forum.
The next day, protesters dogged Koppel in Jerusalem as he met with a delegation from the Jewish Federation of North America.
