Israelis protest for children 'to have a good future'

STORY: "I came to protest against the moves that the government is doing against the democracy of Israel, to make sure that our kids will have a democracy as we had during the past 75 years," said Tel Aviv resident Netta Parnas.

Bella Kharash, who joined the protest with her husband and two children, echoed the sentiment. "The democracy we have today and the economic thriving we have today, is thanks to what it is right now, there is equal opportunities, for everyone, for men, for women, and if things will happen that the government can change it right now, this will not be the case," Kharash said, "I want my kids to have a good future here."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist-religious government and its supporters say the changes are needed to rein in activist judges, but agreed last month in the face of massive opposition to pause the plans to allow for more consultation.

For many Israelis, the stand-off has opened up profound questions about their country that go beyond the makeup of the Supreme Court and the power of the executive to override its decisions, with critics seeing the government's moves as an existential threat to democracy.