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Opinion: How is Netanyahu still in power?
  + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +9 min
View more opinion on CNNCNN —A recent visitor to Israel told me about a conversation in which he noted that Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst prime minister in modern Israel’s history. Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel are becoming increasingly isolated internationally, though experts say this could fortify the prime minister domestically. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister had been largely successful politically, but his personal style and alleged corruption turned many Israelis against him. Are there five courageous members of Likud willing to take the necessary action to move Israel beyond Netanyahu? That is unlikely to happen, however, as long as Netanyahu remains in power.
Persons: Frida Ghitis, CNN CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, “ Bibi, , Netanyahu, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, , Israel, Brendan Smialowski, Israel’s, pariahs, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu –, Gantz, Yoav Gallant, ” Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, CNN CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Getty, West Bank, Trump, National Unity Party, Saudi Arabia ., Hamas, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Israel, Israel’s, Gaza, United States, Iranian, AFP, Washington, Iran, Saudi, Saudi Arabia
We’re paying for close to 100% of NATO.”Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. They don’t pay their bills.”Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. (It rose to about $314 billion in 2020, Trump’s last full year in office.) Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. Facts First: Trump’s claim that “nobody died other than Ashli” is false.
Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, , William Barr, Bill Barr, Barr, Bill, I’m, , it’s, Biden, Joe Biden, Tamar Hermann, Hermann, Bill Clinton, “ Trump, ” Trump, , National Guard Trump, I’ve, George Floyd, Tim Walz, Walz, Paul —, , Erwan, George Washington, “ don’t, they’re, Stoltenberg, Trump’s, Lagadec, Marc Lipsitch, Barack Obama, European Union won’t, Cortellessa, “ Moody’s, Moody’s, Mark Zandi, Zandi, ’ ” Zandi, Joe Biden’s, rioter Ashli Babbitt, Brian Sicknick, Sicknick, Trump’s ‘, patriotically, , patriotically ’, ” Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “ Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Christopher Miller, Miller, Eric Cortellessa, Alvin Bragg’s, Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, ” Cortellessa, Hillary Clinton, , Roe, Wade, Kimberly Mutcherson, “ Donald Trump’s, Maya Manian, Mary Ziegler, Davis, Ziegler, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe should’ve, , Crime Biden, don’t, “ Biden, he’s, James Biden, Jeff Asher, Asher, It’s, ” “, ” Asher Organizations: Washington CNN, Time, Trump, NATO, Capitol, Trump’s, Trade Center, didn’t, World Trade Center, Department, ISIS, CNN, Democratic, White House, White, South Korea Trump, Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data, Biden Administration, Congressional Research Service, Israel, Israeli Democracy Institute, National Guard, Minnesota Democratic Gov, Minnesota National Guard, Guard, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Transatlantic, for Disease Control, World Bank, Washington Post, Harvard, Harvard’s, National, Trump -, of Health, Human Services, Strategic, Biden, U.S . International Trade Commission, European, Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, European Union, US, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, Bloomberg Economics, US Capitol Police, Capitol Police, , Republican, Democratic Rep, National Guardsmen, District of Columbia National Guard, Army, Capitol Police Board, Senate, Justice Department, Pulitzer Foundation, Pulitzer, New York Times, Electoral, Democrat, ” Rutgers Law, American University, university’s Health, University of California, , Customs, Border Protection, Crime, Manchurian, Republicans, FBI Locations: , New York City, Saudi, Florida, al Qaeda, New York, Texas, Mexico, South Korea, Trump , South Korea, South, Korea, Israel, Washington, Trump , Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Trump, Minnesota, St, United States, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, Harvard University, China, EU, DC, Trump’s, , York, Manhattan, York’s, Russia, That’s
Civilians in the southern part of the country, areas near the border with Gaza, were under a brutal, ongoing attack. Frida Ghitis CNNSix months after Hamas launched that deadly rampage, knowing that Israel’s response would be ferocious, there are only losers in this terrible war. It’s hard now to find many winners with the death toll mounting among Gazans and hunger growing in the strip. For Hamas, the fact that war continues may count as a victory, but thousands of Hamas’ fighters — the exact number is disputed — have been killed. Hamas — the Iran-allied group that rules Gaza — killed more than 1,200 Israelis and dragged back hundreds more as hostages.
Persons: Frida Ghitis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, José Andrés, Israel, Ahmad Gharabli, Israel —, , Netanyahu —, , Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Abraham Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Hamas, Israeli, vise, , Gaza, IDF, Getty, Israel, Abraham Accords Locations: Gaza, Israel, Europe, Iran, AFP, Egypt, United States
CNN —More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, celebrated scientists and prominent business leaders have sent a letter to Israel’s president and speaker of parliament demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office for posing what they say is an “existential” threat to the country. “The victim’s blood is on Netanyahu’s hands.”The letter was sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday and to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Friday. The frontrunner in the poll was the National Unity party led by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, currently a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Video Ad Feedback Backlash grows over Israel's Netanyahu seemingly ruling out a two-state solution. Netanyahu told a news conference last week that politicians who are asking him to step down are essentially asking for a Palestinian state.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog, Amir Ohana, , Moshe Ya’alon, Dan Halutz, Tamir Pardo, Danny Yatom, Nadav Argaman, Yaakov Peri, Shin, Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Dan Shechtman, Benny Gantz, aren’t, Yair Lapid, , Haim Tomer, ” Tomer, Israel's Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Biden, Tomer, I’ve, ” Israel Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, , Shin Bet, Israel’s, Likud, National Unity, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Mossad, International Court of Justice Locations: Israel, Iran, United States, Gaza, Qatar, Palestinian, South Africa
Her position, which she described as “complicated,” speaks to the challenge Israel’s peace movement faces when coming to terms with the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. Some activists complain that authorities are attempting to equate peace activism with support for Hamas. Some Jewish Israelis have lost their jobs or have been publicly sanctioned for speaking out in favour of Gaza, say activists. Hundreds of people came (and) tried to hurt me,” he told CNN from an undisclosed location, as he is currently in hiding. Tara John/CNNNot many Jewish peace activists are ready to vocally advocate for peace “because everyone is traumatized – but I have the words,” Inon said.
Persons: Ziv Stahl, , Stahl, Yesh Din, , Zayin, Tara John, Rafael, Zayin’s, , won’t, Gen, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gen Zayin, ” Doxed, Ofer Cassif, “ That’s, Maoz Inon, Israel Frey, ” Inon, Elana Kaminka, , Yannai, Yannai Kaminka Organizations: Tel, Tel Aviv CNN, Jewish, CNN, Israeli Democracy Institute, West Bank, Riot, Israel Police Special Patrol, Locations: Tel Aviv, Kfar Aza, Israel, Gaza, “ Israel, West, Jerusalem, , Tzur Hadassah
"Everything that theoretically, the government should have done was initially organized by the protest movements," Poran told Reuters. The judicial overhaul plans, promoted by Netanyahu's religious-rightist government as an overdue check on the powers of activist judges encroaching on politics, drew hundreds of thousands of protesters who saw them as an existential threat to Israeli democracy. Thousands of military reservists said they would refuse to report for normal duty, creating fears in the military that Israel's security would be compromised. "They said that if Israel will be in some existential threat, under an existential threat, that then they will return and this is exactly what they did." Reporting by Emily Rose and Janis Laizans; Editing by Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Ammar Awad, Guy Poran, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Poran, Netanyahu, Emily Rose, Janis Laizans, Howard Goller Organizations: Volunteers, REUTERS, Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, TEL AVIV
Protest leaders say thousands of reservists have stopped reporting for duty. "Brothers in Arms", a reservist protester group, seemed unmoved by the gesture, accusing Netanyahu of playing down risks to military readiness. The Supreme Court will on Sept. 12 hear arguments against a bill limiting some of its powers to void government decisions, which was ratified in a parliament controlled by Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition. The military has so far acknowledged a "limited" impact from the reservist protest, citing the loss of some veteran instructors from the air force's flight school. As of now, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) can handle its missions and the goal is to put this matter behind us," he said.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu's, Amir, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, IMPACT Netanyahu, Amos Gilad, Tzachi Hanegbi, Dan Williams, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Arms, REUTERS, JERUSALEM, IMPACT, Army Radio, National, Army, IDF, Israel Defence Forces, Thomson Locations: Kiryat Ono, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Israeli, Syria
But he's a very unusual protester - a former Mossad spy who never before questioned the state for which he once risked his life on foreign missions. Amir, who declined to be fully named due to his sensitive previous secret roles, is among former veterans of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, who are taking to the streets in protest at their government's judiciary overhaul. Reuters spoke with two other former Mossad officials who are also involved in the protests and more fearful of the impact the legislation will have on Israel's security system. Yossi Cohen, another former Mossad chief, spoke of his concerns for "Israel's immediate national security". "At a time when the Iranian threat looms over us from multiple fronts, we must ensure Israel's security remains unharmed," Cohen wrote in a July 23 commentary in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
Persons: Amir Cohen, Netanyahu, Amir, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Efraim Halevy, Iran, Haim Tomer, Tomer, Adolf Eichmann, Gil, Yossi Cohen, Cohen, Michael Georgy, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, HERZLIYA, Reuters, Minister's, Mossad, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Herzliya, Europe
“There are many checks on the legislative and executive branches, but there are simply no checks on the Supreme Court,” Kontorovich said, without citing examples. Video Ad Feedback Hear Netanyahu respond to judicial overhaul plans amid protests 03:17 - Source: CNNUnlike many democracies, Israel does not have a written constitution. While they are a minority in Israel, they have different reasons for backing the judicial plan. The prime minister in his Thursday interview with CNN failed to confirm whether he’d accept a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the “reasonableness” law. Following backlash from the opposition, however, Netanyahu in a statement attempted to reassure the public, saying that Israeli governments “always respect” court decisions.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Eugene Kontorovich, Kontorovich, Netanyahu, ” Kontorovich, Israel “, , Tommy Lamm, Ronnie Lottner, , Naftali Bennett’s, Tamar Hermann, ” Hermann, Gideon Rahat, Bennett, Yair Lapid, Hermann, Israel Democracy Institue Organizations: CNN, White, Israel’s, West Bank, Israel Democracy Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s, Israel Democracy Locations: Israeli, Israel,
JERUSALEM, July 28 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said parliament's decision to trim Supreme Court powers to overrule government actions as part of his planned judicial overhaul would not hurt Israel's democracy. Now in its seventh month, the crisis escalated on Monday after parliament passed the first of the changes, trimming Supreme Court powers to overrule government actions and raising fears for the court's independence. While Netanyahu downplayed the consequences of his plans, air force chief, Tomer Bar, warned the crisis could be exploited by Israel's enemies. Political watchdog groups have appealed to the Supreme Court to strike the new law, paving the way to a showdown among branches of government when it hears the arguments in September. The prime minister says the changes will balance government branches.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, It's, Tomer, Michael Georgy, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: ABC News, CNN, Thomson
“What you’re talking about is a situation, or potential situation, where in American terms, the United States’ Supreme Court would take a constitutional amendment and say that it’s unconstitutional. The law, which would limit the power of Israel’s Supreme Court, is an amendment to one of Israel’s Basic Laws, which exist in place of a formal constitution. The Supreme Court has said that it will hear appeals against the law in September. Israel’s new law strips the Supreme Court of the ability to reject some government decisions on the basis of the “reasonableness” standard. Amir Cohen/ReutersThe country has no upper chamber of the parliament, but it has a relatively strong Supreme Court.
Persons: Wolf, Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN —, ” Netanyahu, CNN’s Wolf, Ariel Schalit, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, we’re, We’re, , Amir Cohen, Blitzer, they’re, unfazed Organizations: CNN, CNN — Israel’s, United States ’, Biden White House, AP Locations: United, Tel Aviv, Israel, United States, Iran, American
Help may be on the way from talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia. When I interviewed President Biden in the Oval Office last week, my column focused on his urging Netanyahu not to ram through the judicial overhaul without even a semblance of national consensus. The president is wrestling with whether to pursue the possibility of a U.S.-Saudi mutual security pact that would involve Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel, provided that Israel make concessions to the Palestinians that would preserve the possibility of a two-state solution. Closing such a multinational deal would be time-consuming, difficult and complex, even if Biden decides to take it to the next level right away. But the exploratory talks are moving ahead now — faster than I thought — and they’re important for two reasons.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Biden, Netanyahu, that’s, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Brett McGurk, Sullivan, McGurk, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Organizations: White House Locations: United States, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Saudi, Israel
Existing agreements among the coalition are explicit about these goals and legislation reflecting this agenda has already been introduced. To this, we should add subtler but no less drastic changes to the civil service, once heralded as professional and nonpartisan. It is the unraveling of Israel’s basic identity, that of a Jewish and democratic state. Across Israel, there is growing alarm about the rise of religion in the public sphere and the privileging of Jewish interests inside Israel and in the occupied territories. So here goes: Since its establishment, Israel has become only more fragmented and polarized.
Persons: Itamar Ben, Ben Organizations: Netanyahu Locations: Israel
CNN —White House criticism of Israel after its right-wing coalition embarked on a plan to target judicial power is bringing a new kind of turbulence to one of America’s oldest friendships. It shows that Israel, like the United States, is experiencing an era of right-wing politicians seeking to aggressively flex power and test enshrined democratic constraints. The drama is likely to further worsen the long-standing but increasingly brittle relationship between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu. Yet there is deep concern in the White House about the implications of any successful attempt to subvert checks and balances in Israel. And Netanyahu appeared to align himself politically with Trump while he was in the White House.
Persons: CNN —, Israel, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Biden’s, , shockwaves, Jordan, , Martin Indyk, , ” Indyk, Lynda Kinkade, hasn’t, Thomas Friedman, ” Biden’s, Karine Jean, Pierre, Isaac Herzog, ” Aaron David Miller, Isa Soares, don’t, Mitch McConnell, “ Mr, Obama, Trump, Mike Pence, Hugh Hewitt, Ron DeSantis, “ Biden, Pramila Jayapal, didn’t Organizations: CNN, , White House, Trump, Republicans, Democratic, House, West Bank, Biden, CNN International, , New York Times, Republican, Israel, -, Republican Party, Netanyahu’s Likud Party, Florida Gov, Congressional, Democrat Locations: Iran, Israel, United States, Washington, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Florida
Opinion | Israel’s Self-Inflicted Wound
  + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +2 min
A demagogue sacrifices his nation for himself. The crisis in Israel is sometimes described as a battle of left against right, secular against religious, Ashkenazi against Mizrahi Jews. Israel’s demographic challenges are well known, but there’s a challenge within the challenge: If the people who made Israel the “Startup Nation” are heading for the exits, the long-term basis of Israel’s power will erode. Prayers won’t save Israel if it lacks a world-class economy to sustain a regionally dominant military. Israelis have a penchant for hyperbole, and this week has brought a lot of lamentations about the “end of Israeli democracy.” That’s an unwarranted counsel of despair as well as an overstatement: Israeli democracy has survived worse.
Persons: Israel wouldn’t, Netanyahu weren’t, Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, There’s, Organizations: Locations: Israel
The bill curbing Supreme Court review of some government decisions passed in a stormy Knesset parliament on Monday after a walkout by lawmakers. Protest leaders said growing numbers of military reservists would no longer report for duty if the government continued with its plans. First elected to top office in 1996 and now in his sixth term, Netanyahu, 73, is facing his biggest domestic crisis. A Lebanese source familiar with the development said the men were members of a Hezbollah elite unit on a patrol that had nothing to do with Israel's domestic crisis. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday said Israel's domestic crisis showed it was on a "path of collapse and fragmentation".
Persons: Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair Lapid, Zion Hagay, Kan, Corinna Kern, striding, Hassan Nasrallah, Bezalel Smotrich, Dan Williams, Ari Rabinovitch, Henriette Chacar, Andrew MacAskill, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Andrew Cawthorne, Nick Macfie Organizations: Israeli Democracy, Israel Bar Association, Israel Medical Association, Health Ministry, REUTERS, BANK, Orthodox Jewish, West Bank, Hamas, Hezbollah, Finance, Army Radio, Thomson Locations: JERUSALEM, Israel, Histadrut, United States, Britain, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Washington, Nablus, Palestinian, Lebanese, Iran, London, Beirut
Opinion: Don’t expect history to be kind to Netanyahu
  + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +8 min
CNN —There is no question that history books will dedicate considerable space to the impact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on the fate of his embattled nation. But in Israel’s parliamentary system, the prime minister controls not just the executive but also the legislature through his majority coalition in parliament. Without judiciary oversight, the prime minister and his bloc have little to stop them as they push their agenda. Frida GhitisTo become prime minister, Netanyahu had to enlist the support of enough parties to have 61 votes out of the 120 seats in the Knesset. When asked whom they would prefer as prime minister, just 34% said Netanyahu over the center-right Benny Gantz, with opposition leader Yair Lapid also beating the Israeli leader.
Persons: Frida Ghitis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ Bibi, , , it’s, Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis, Biden, Facebook Netanyahu, Donald Trump’s politicization, toying Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, West Bank, Florida Gov, Twitter, Facebook, Israel Locations: Israel’s, United States, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Israel
The roads around the Parliament and Supreme Court in Jerusalem were nearly deserted on Tuesday morning after chaotic late-night scenes of protesters facing off against police on horseback and armed with water cannons. Demonstrators who camped out for days in a park nearby had packed up quietly after the city served them with an eviction order, leaving no trace of their tent city. A small knot of people waved blue and white Israeli flags and a rainbow flag at a junction not far away, but the police wouldn’t allow them to approach the Parliament. One passing car blared its support. But the driver of another shouted “Only Bibi!” out the window in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Persons: , , Benjamin Netanyahu Locations: Jerusalem
Lawmakers, including Yariv Levin, the Justice Minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security, at the Knesset in Jerusalem after the vote on Monday. Israel’s nationalist right celebrated a hard-won victory Monday after seven months of struggling to advance the contentious plan to weaken Israel’s judiciary in the face of mounting opposition. Many on Israel’s right say Israel’s Supreme Court is staffed by activist judges who have tied the hands of elected leaders. Right-wing voters commonly say they “vote for the right and get the left” and blame the courts for striking down popular policies. A weakened court would allow Mr. Ben-Gvir to fulfill such campaign promises, he said.
Persons: Yariv Levin, Itamar Ben, Gvir, , , Benjamin Netanyahu —, Rafi Sharbatov, Ben, Arnon Segal, Segal, , we’ve, Bezalel Smotrich, God’s, Mr, Smotrich, Smotrich’s, Dan Odenheimer, Odenheimer, “ It’s Organizations: of National Security, West Bank, Air Force, West Locations: Jerusalem, Israel’s, Israel, West Bank, Efrat
It is the first major piece of the multi-pronged judicial overhaul plan to get this far in the legislative process. The judicial overhaul is a package of bills that each need to pass three votes in the Knesset. Defending his plans, the prime minister has pointed to countries like the United States, where politicians control which federal judges are appointed and approved. Should the overhaul pass, the changes will be the most extreme shakeup to Israel’s judiciary since its founding in 1948. Its executive, the Bar Council, approved the decision to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the reasonableness law if it passes on Monday, the Bar said.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Aryeh Deri, Critics, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Joe Biden, New York Times ’ Thomas Friedman, ” Biden, Friedman, ” Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog –, , Herzog, Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Sunday, Israeli, Court, Critics, Israel Democracy Institute, Air, New York Times, White, Biden, Israel Bar Association, Bar, Association Locations: Jerusalem, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, United States, Washington
The so-called reasonableness law takes away the Supreme Court’s power to block government decisions by declaring them unreasonable. Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images Protesters from Tel Aviv walk the entrance road to Jerusalem after a four-day march on July 22. Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters Protesters block the main entrance to the Ministry of Defense during a protest in Tel Aviv on July 18. Israel, which has no written constitution and no upper chamber of the parliament, has had a relatively powerful Supreme Court, which supporters of the changes argue is problematic. He has argued that the Supreme Court has become an insular, elitist group that does not represent the Israeli people.
Persons: , Yair Lapid, Ohad, Ammar Awad, Benjamin Netanyahu, Aryeh Deri, Shas, Ronaldo Schemidt, Mahmoud Illean, Netanyahu, Ronen Zvulun, Hazem Bader, Dar Yaskil, Saeed Qaq, Matan Golan, Menahem Kahana, Ilan Rosenberg, Amir Levy, Jack Guez, Joe Biden, , Israel, ” Biden, Biden, Thomas Friedman, , Maya Alleruzzo, Isaac Herzog Organizations: CNN, Israel Police, Air Force, Israeli, Quality Government, Supreme, AP, Reuters, Getty Images, Protesters, Reuters Protesters, Getty, Ministry of Defense, New York Times, TA, West Bank, Israel Bar Association, Association Locations: Israeli, Jerusalem, Reuters Israeli, AFP, Tel Aviv, Israel, United States
JERUSALEM, July 23 (Reuters) - Nearly 70% of Israeli startups have taken action to relocate parts of their business outside Israel, a survey released on Sunday by an Israeli non-profit organisation on the government's planned judicial overhaul found. The survey, completed by professionals representing 521 companies, said 68% of Israeli startup companies "have begun taking active legal and financial steps, like withdrawing cash reserves, changing HQ location outside Israel, relocation of employees and conducting layoffs." Additionally, 22% of companies said they have diversified cash reserves outside Israel and 37% of investors say companies in their portfolios have withdrawn some of their cash reserves and moved them abroad. "Concerning trends like registering a company abroad or launching new startups outside Israel will be hard to reverse," said Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson. The survey was released as lawmakers began debating a bill that would prevent the Supreme Court from quashing legislation on the grounds of manifest "unreasonableness".
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Avi Hasson, Emily Rose, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Nation Central, Thomson Locations: Israel, Israeli
When tens of thousands of Israelis marched up to Jerusalem this weekend to protest the far-right government’s plan to limit judicial power, many were driven by an urgent fear that the government is trying to steal the country that their parents and grandparents fought to build against the odds. “It’s really a feeling of looting, as if the country is their spoils and everything is theirs for the taking,” said Mira Lapidot, 52, a museum curator from Tel Aviv. This desperate march, in the middle of a heat wave, over the 2,400-foot mountains that lead to Jerusalem, was “a last chance to stop it.”The government’s supporters — many from more nationalist and religious backgrounds — largely believe the opposite: that the country is being stolen by a political opposition that has refused to accept its losses, not only in a series of democratic elections but also through sweeping demographic and cultural changes that have challenged its once-dominant vision of the country. “It should really be called a coup, not a protest movement anymore,” said Avi Abelow, 49, a podcast host from Efrat, a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. “They’re willing to destroy the unity of the Israeli people, willing to destroy the unity of the Israeli Army — and destroy Israeli democracy — to hold on to their power.”
Persons: , , Mira Lapidot, Avi Abelow, “ They’re, Organizations: West Bank, Israeli Army Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
[1/2] Israeli President Isaac Herzog looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. Stefani Reynolds/Pool via REUTERSWASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address Congress on Wednesday, completing a visit aimed at reassuring the United States that Israel's democracy remains strong despite government attempts to overhaul the country's judicial system. The invitation was extended by the leaders of Congress last year to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel's founding. Biden had held off extending the invitation out of concern over Jewish settlements and the planned judicial overhaul. Proponents of the Israeli government's judicial overhaul say the country's Supreme Court has become too interventionist and that the change will facilitate effective governance.
Persons: Isaac Herzog, Antony Blinken, Stefani Reynolds, Joe Biden, Herzog, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Biden, Chaim Herzog, Herzog's, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Omar, Isaac Herzog’s, Narendra Modi's, Netanyahu, Barack Obama's, Patricia Zengerle, Don Durfee, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, Israeli, U.S . House, Senate, West Bank, Washington, Twitter, Capitol, , Indian, Democrats, Republicans, Democratic, White, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, REUTERS WASHINGTON, United States, Israel, Washington, Palestinian, Alexandria, Barack Obama's Iran
JERUSALEM, July 4 (Reuters) - Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday gave an initial nod to a bill that limits Supreme Court power to rule against the government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would press on with contentious changes to the justice system. In a stormy session broadcast live, Parliament's constitution committee, dominated by Netanyahu's nationalist-religious ruling coalition, voted in favour of the bill that limits "reasonableness" as a standard of judicial review. At present, the Supreme Court can rule against government and elected officials' decisions if they are deemed unreasonable. After the committee vote, the shekel weakened by 0.3% against the dollar. Netanyahu has defended the changes as restoring balance between branches of government and redressing what his coalition allies see as judicial overreach.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, Critics, Steven Scheer, William Maclean, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Netanyahu's, Israel's Ben, Washington, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Israel's, Israel's Ben Gurion
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