Sharon Basch is an Israeli American who lived in Israel before starting her JD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she is a rising 2L.

Following seven months of protests the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Monday passed the first of its proposed and highly controversial reform bills. The bill seeks to restrict the Supreme Court’s powers by limiting its ability to overrule arbitrary government legislation.

The outcome of the vote was 64-0, with every member of the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting for the reform, as all 56 members of the opposition left the room in protest. Coalition members were seen taking celebratory selfies with Yariv Levin, the current Minister of Justice.

Thousands who had been camping outside of the Knesset after a four-day march on Jerusalem erupted into chants of “shame,” while others burst into tears.

Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, has been tweeting constantly since the vote, addressing the vote and the protestors. Immediately following the vote, Lapid tweeted urging the reservists to continue their service, despite thousands of soldiers insisting that if the vote passes they would not return – “…to the reservists, fighters and pilots whose hearts were broken today. I was prime minister. I know your abilities, your sacrifice, your dedication to the State of Israel and its security. Wait, let the High Court discuss the law and only then make the most difficult decision of all. Don’t stop serving as long as we don’t know what the ruling will be.” He followed with another tweet, sharing his disappointment, “Today we saw an unprecedented show of weakness by Netanyahu. There is no prime minister in Israel. Netanyahu has become a puppet on a string of messianic extremists.”

Gideon Sa’ar, former Minister of Justice tweeted “Knowingly and with eyes wide open, the government today passed a law that seriously harms the national interest and ignores the heart of the majority of the public who expressed their cry in an unprecedented manner. My friends and I are committed to continuing the fight for the image and future of the country. Those who cheered today in the Knesset plenum after the vote – will be punished by the people of Israel at the ballot box.”

Meanwhile Betzalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Simcha Rothman (the key architect of the judicial overhaul reforms), and others have taken to Twitter to share their joy, spreading an image thanking the members of the Knesset for “helping Israel return to Democracy.”

Protests continue, as police officers have started using water cannons to disperse them.

The next few days will be crucial. Opposition members, the labor unions, universities, hospitals, businesses, and most importantly reserve soldiers still have an opportunity for this to go their way. Yair Lapid (and the Bar Association) have already begun drafting a petition to the Supreme Court to overrule this anti-democratic reform.