Israelis block highways and throng airport in protest at government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary

By JULIA FRANKEL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Protesters in Israel have blocked highways and thronged the country’s main international airport in a day of countrywide demonstrations against the government’s divisive plan to overhaul the judiciary. The demonstrations on Tuesday came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave an initial approval to a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers. The legislation is one of several proposals by Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies as the government presses forward with contentious changes to the judiciary despite widespread opposition. Police used a water cannon to clear protesters who blocked a main artery leading to Jerusalem and arrested several others who obstructed a highway next to the central city of Modiin.