Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on Monday, threatening to paralyze the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Departing flights from the country's main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel's largest trade union group called for its 800,000 members -- in health, transit, banking and other fields -- to stop work. Local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also walk off the job.
The turmoil has magnified longstanding and intractable differences over Israel's character that have riven it since its establishment. The protesters say they are fighting for the very soul of the nation, saying the overhaul will remove Israel's system of checks and balances and directly challenge its democratic ideals.
"Where are we leading our beloved Israel? To the abyss," Arnon Bar-David, the group's head, said in a rousing speech to applause. "Today we are stopping everyone's descent toward the abyss." The developments were being watched in Washington, which is closely allied with Israel yet has been uneasy with Netanyahu and the far-right elements of his government. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was "deeply concerned" by the developments in Israel, "which further underscore the urgent need for compromise."
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