Israel’s Judicial Coup  

by Michael Widlanksi, AM THINKER    30.3.23

Israel’s recent “judicial reform crisis” has deep roots going back decades. Not surprisingly, they originate within the Israeli Left.

Israel is teaching us all a new lesson in modern western democracy as checks and balances are thrown out the window. Western media will not tell you that only in Israel do Supreme Court judges appoint themselves and write their own checks and balances.

The real revolution in Israel took place in 1992 when then-Israeli Chief Justice Aharon Barak began a one-man legal uprising, assigning himself and his judicial colleagues the power to rewrite or veto any decision, policy, or appointment made by Israel’s elected leaders.

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March 30, 2023 | 6:52 pm | 1 Comment »

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Haredi man severely beaten by protesters in Tel Aviv  

A haredi couple was driving through Tel Aviv on Sunday when protesters surrounded their car and severely beat the husband. The police have yet to contact the couple, and the incident is being ignored in mainstream media.

     30.3.23

The injuries sustained in the lynchAtty. Asulin

A haredi couple who were driving through Tel Aviv on Sunday night found themselves in the midst of an anti-judicial reform demonstration. The demonstrators surrounded the car and proceeded to attack them. Israel National News spoke with the victim’s wife about the traumatic incident and the media’s silence.

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March 30, 2023 | 4:33 pm | 3 Comments »

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Oy! But this, too, is for the best  

The legitimacy born of a readiness to explore compromise will help with “swing voters” in the next elections.

By Rabbi Dov Fischer, INN

I first met Bibi in July 1985 — 38 years ago. I was in my early 30s, the national executive vice president of the American support group for Likud, then called the “Herut Zionists of America” (now “Likud USA”). Bibi, then Israel’s U.N. ambassador, was our honored guest at our annual Jabotinsky Yahrzeit gathering. He impressed. Younger Bibi was brilliant, insightful, and uncompromising.<
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March 30, 2023 | 3:35 pm | 5 Comments »

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If Ben Gvir succeeds, he will be the Arab Israelis’ hero  

Feared by the elitist Left, if he succeeds in deploying a National Guard, he will be a hero to farmers and Arab Israelis alike.

 

Itamar Ben GvirFlash90

There is no telling how far he will go next time if Itamar Ben Gvir succeeds in delivering on the law and order campaign which turned him into the story of the last elections.

And Ben Gvir knows that.

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March 30, 2023 | 3:21 pm | Comments »

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Netanyahu considering retracting dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant  

PM continues to search for replacements for Minister Gallant, but is considering keeping him in his position if he resigns from the Knesset.

  Mar 29, 2023, 5:11 PM (GMT+3)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering announcing the cancellation of the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the condition that the latter announces that he will resign from the Knesset and that he will not be allowed to return to the Knesset under the Norwegian Law if he is dismissed a second time.

Netanyahu announced Gallant’s dismissal on Sunday after the Defense Minister issued a public statement on Saturday night demanding that the judicial reform legislation be frozen due to the growing number of refusals to report for duty among the IDF reserves.

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March 30, 2023 | 2:57 am | Comments »

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WSJ POLL: Belief In traditional American values plummeting  

By Eric Utter, AM THINKER

According to a depressing new poll from The Wall Street Journal, belief in the importance of traditional American values has plummeted in the United States in recent decades.

The poll queried U.S. respondents about the importance of patriotism, religious faith, having children and other traditionally American values in their lives. Only 39% of Americans surveyed said their religious faith is very important to them, and just 38% said patriotism is very important.
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March 29, 2023 | 3:54 pm | Comments »

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Judicial reform talks continue, but Israelis pessimistic  

Just 41% of Israelis believe the talks are likely to yield a compromise on judicial overhaul, as president hosts second day of consultations

President Isaac Herzog held consultations with lawmakers from the United Arab List (Ra’am), Hadash-Ta’al, and Labor Party factions Wednesday, as part of his effort to broker a compromise on judicial reform.

Negotiating teams from the Coalition and the Opposition, including the Likud, Yesh Atid, and National Union factions met for their first round of talks at the President’s residence Tuesday night, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the government is pausing the judicial reform plan.

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March 29, 2023 | 3:37 pm | 2 Comments »

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Biden’s Rebuke Shocks, Surprises Netanyahu as U.S.-Israel Rift Deepens  

Netanyahu thought tensions with the U.S. were under control, but Biden’s statement underscored the simmering diplomatic tensions the premier was hoping to allay
By Jonathan Lis, HAARETZ

U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be invited anytime soon to the White House shocked and surprised the PM’s office and underscored the simmering diplomatic tensions the premier was hoping to allay.

While Netanyahu aides drew encouragement from Ambassador Tom Nides’ statement that the premier would be invited to the White House after Passover, Washington’s tone escalated throughout the day and culminated with what was perceived as a humiliating statement by Biden.

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March 29, 2023 | 1:43 pm | 11 Comments »

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad says ‘IDF is disintegrating before our eyes’  

JIHAD WATCH : Palestinian Islamic Jihad says ‘IDF is disintegrating before our eyes’

By Ury Weiss

It is true that Israel became a mini America and with a woke army and a woke chief of staff who was just appointed, it doesn’t bode well for our future. In America we saw the hearings of Senator Ron Johnson in the US SENATE, in which Lt. Colonel Theresa Long, a 26 years veteran Medical Doctor testified that in one day she had to ground three fighter pilots who weren’t able to fly due to injuries from the Luciferian injections. In Israel there was not even ONE whistleblower, although we know there were and still are significant injuries and deaths amongst the fighting units and even amongst fighter pilots of the IDF.

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March 29, 2023 | 1:05 pm | 5 Comments »

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2023 Inflated Palestinian Demography  

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”

Official Palestinian demographic numbers are highly-inflated, as documented by a study, which has audited the Palestinian data since 2004:

*500,000 overseas residents, who have been away for over a year, are included in the Palestinian census, contrary to international regulations. 325,000 were included in the 1997 census, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, and 400,000 in 2005, according to the Palestinian Election Commission. The number grows steadily due to births.

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March 29, 2023 | 6:28 am | Comments »

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Inside the U.S. Pressure Campaign Over Israel’s Judicial Overhaul  

President Biden and his advisers bombarded the Israeli government with warnings that the country’s image as the sole democracy in the Middle East was at stake.

WASHINGTON — In the 48 hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reluctantly delayed his effort to overhaul the Israeli judiciary, his government was bombarded by warnings from the Biden administration that he was imperiling Israel’s reputation as the true democracy at the heart of the Middle East.

In a statement on Sunday night, soon after Mr. Netanyahu fired his defense minister because he had broken with the government on the judicial overhaul, the White House noted that President Biden had told Mr. Netanyahu by phone a week ago that democratic values “have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Major changes to the system, Mr. Biden said, must only “be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support.”

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March 29, 2023 | 3:15 am | 2 Comments »

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Greenfield: “Netanyahu is a weak man”  

By Ted Belman

Daniel Greenfield who was born in Israel before moving to the US just wrote a short piece titled

Netanyahu’s Shameful Surrender to the Left.

The Left, in Israel and in the United States, bet that with enough pressure they could shut down democratic judicial reform in Israel. The weak point in the coalition government, as in every government where he has served as prime minister, is Netanyahu. The tragic truth to anyone who has been paying attention to Israeli politics long enough is that given enough pressure, he buckles, frees terrorists, freezes construction and backs off attack plans.

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March 28, 2023 | 5:22 pm | 12 Comments »

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Kohelet Forum calls Override Clause ‘totally idiotic. It’s not going to happen.’  

T. Belman.  My daughter’s greatest concern is the override clause. She says it should require more than 61 votes.  I think such requirement would mean in practice the negation of the override. She also argues that the country is split and both sides are about equal. Therefore the selection committee should reflect that split. Thus the committee who selects them should also be split 50-50. In this regard, should the Justices or the Bar have any say in the matter?  Perhaps it should be 50-50 between the Government and the Opposition. This would produce consensus judges rather than far right or far left judges.

Influential right-wing think-tank claims only the haredi political parties want law passed.

One of the most contentious components of the government’s judicial reform package is the Override Clause which would enable the government to vote down Supreme Court rulings that invalidate Knesset legislation. Long promoted by elements within the coalition as essential in order to curb the Court’s power, the Clause has passed its first reading in the Knesset but its future is now uncertain.

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March 28, 2023 | 11:38 am | 16 Comments »

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Ben Shapiro: Israel must have judicial reform – and dialogue  

Conservative pundit warns Israel’s current situation is ‘untenable,’ calls for judicial reform and compromise on policy.

  Mar 28, 2023, 8:09 AM (GMT+3)

Ben Shapiro at CPAC Israel ConferenceCPAC Israel and TLV Intl. Salon

Conservative pundit and Daily Wire cofounder Ben Shapiro responded to Israel’s ongoing judicial overhaul crisis Monday, laying out the case for both reform and compromise in public policy.

In a series of tweets Monday night, the Orthodox Jewish commentator, who has frequently weighed in on Israeli politics, pushed back on the claim of anti-reform activists that the overhaul would gut Israeli democracy, but added that while judicial reform is necessary, the Right must compromise in terms of policy once reform has been achieved.

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March 28, 2023 | 11:18 am | 3 Comments »

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Channel 12 News poll: Coalition loses 10 seats, Gantz doubles his power  

T. Belman. This is devastating news for Netanyahu. He can not recover from it. The silver lining is that he has no choice but to plow ahead with judicial reform.

He was abandoned by 22% of his own party. That’s a big surprise. The question is can he prevent 4 Likud Knesset members from bolting the government.

Another big surprise was that 62% felt that Gallant’s dismissal was not justified.

National Unity Party wins 23 seats, Yesh Atid has 22. The Labor Party does not pass the electoral threshold.

  Mar 28, 2023, 2:04 AM (GMT+3)

A day after the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a Channel 12 News poll published on Monday evening shows a surge for the chairman of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz, who wins 23 seats – at the expense of Likud and the Religious Zionist Party.

Likud wins 25 seats in this poll, Yesh Atid – 22, Religious Zionist Party – 12, Shas – 10, United Torah Judaism – 7, Yisrael Beynteu – 6, Hadash-Ta’al – 5, Meretz – 5, and Ra’am – 5. Overall, the pro-Netanyahu bloc wins 54 seats.

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March 28, 2023 | 5:16 am | Comments »

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