For weeks, protesters have taken to the streets to oppose the government’s plan to overhaul judicial rules. The discontent intensified Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired a minister who had criticized the plan for causing turmoil within the military. Universities shuttered in protest, and union leaders are hinting of a general strike that threatens to paralyze the nation. The fallout is also stretching beyond Israel’s borders, causing unease among investors, influential American Jews and Israel’s foreign allies, including the United States.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content. Open this photo in gallery: Demonstrators come out in support for Israel's nationalist coalition government and its plans for a judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. RONEN ZVULUN
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Open this photo in gallery: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, stands on the floor of the Knesset, the country's parliament, during a vote as people mass outside to protest his government's plan to overhaul the judicial system, in Jerusalem. Maya Alleruzzo/The Associated Press
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Open this photo in gallery: A driver tries to remove barrier placed by protesters against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan outside the parliament in Tel Aviv,Israel. Ariel Schalit
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Open this photo in gallery: Police block protesters from joining a demonstration outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. AVISHAG SHAAR-YASHUV/The New York Times News Service
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Open this photo in gallery: Protesters attend a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister and his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
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Open this photo in gallery: Protesters gather outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. AVISHAG SHAAR-YASHUV/The New York Times News Service
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Open this photo in gallery: An aerial view shows protesters attending a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister and his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. STRINGER/Reuters
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Open this photo in gallery: People attend a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister as his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
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Open this photo in gallery: Protesters gather outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images
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Open this photo in gallery: Mounted police move in on protesters blocking a highway in Tel Aviv. AMIT ALKAYAM/The New York Times News Service
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Open this photo in gallery: Women dressed as handmaidens from "The Handmaid's Tale" attend a demonstration in Jerusalem. AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
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Open this photo in gallery: Israel's opposition leader Benny Gantz addresses protesters at a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister as his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. AMMAR AWAD
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Open this photo in gallery: Israelis scuffles with police during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan outside the parliament in Jerusalem. Ariel Schalit/The Associated Press
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Open this photo in gallery: Israelis fight with police during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan outside the parliament in Jerusalem. Ariel Schalit/The Associated Press
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Open this photo in gallery: Protesters shout slogans outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem amid ongoing demonstrations and calls for a general strike against the hard-right government's controversial push to overhaul the justice system. HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images
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Open this photo in gallery: Passengers wait for their flights during a strike at departures hall in Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP/Getty Images
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Open this photo in gallery: A protester holds a sign depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin with the words "Yariv and the destroyer" during a demonstration in Jerusalem. AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
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Open this photo in gallery: Security restrains a protector who broke into parliament in Jerusalem. Maya Alerruzzo/The Associated Press
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Open this photo in gallery: Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, center, arrives to join protesters outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. AVISHAG SHAAR-YASHUV/The New York Times News Service
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Open this photo in gallery: Israelis protest during a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister and his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem. STRINGER/Reuters
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