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☆ Netanyahu Finds Himself at War in Gaza and at Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The social media post went up online at 1:10 a.m. Sunday, while most Israelis were sleeping. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a message: His military and security chiefs, he said, had failed to provide him with any warning of the surprise Hamas assault on Oct. 7. He appeared to be placing all the blame on them for the colossal lapses — even as Israeli forces were broadening a risky ground war in Gaza. The country awoke to a furious response, including from within Mr. Netanyahu’s own war cabinet. For many Israelis, the episode confirmed suspicions of rifts and disarray at the top during one of the worst crises in the country’s 75-year history and reinforced qualms about Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, ”, “, Gadi Wolfsfeld, “ He’s, Wolfsfeld, Benny Gantz Organizations: Twitter, Reichman University Locations: Gaza, Herzliya, Tel Aviv

☆ Netanyahu Apologizes After Blaming Security Chiefs for Failure in Hamas Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The comments by Mr. Netanyahu on X, formerly Twitter, prompted a furious response, including from within his own war cabinet. Although many senior officials, including military and security chiefs and the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, have accepted some responsibility for Israel being caught so off-guard, Mr. Netanyahu has declined to do so. Mr. Netanyahu has been in power for 14 of the past 16 years. Hours afterward, Mr. Netanyahu sought to deflect blame from himself, instead directing it at the security establishment — and specifically the heads of military intelligence and the Shin Bet internal security agency. “Under no circumstances and at no stage was Prime Minister Netanyahu warned of war intentions on the part of Hamas,” his post read.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, Benny Gantz, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Gantz, ”, Shin Bet, Shin, Mr, ” Mr, Yair Lapid, “, Gabi Ashkenazi Organizations: Twitter, Shin, “ Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ With Their Soldiers Poised to Attack, Israelis Try to Decipher the Delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For 17 days, Israeli ground troops and tanks have been on standby, idling in the dusty fields around Gaza. Their stated mission: to invade the Palestinian coastal enclave and destroy the military capabilities of Hamas, the armed Islamist group, and its ability to rule there. The United States has been pressuring Israel to hold off to allow more time for hostage negotiations and aid deliveries, and for more U.S. military assets to be deployed to the region. The Israeli news media is filled with reports of differences within the government and between the political leadership and the military. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long viewed as cautious about military adventures, is thought to be still deciding when — or if — to go ahead.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, —, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant —, Herzi Halevi, ” Organizations: United Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, —

☆ An Israeli TV Channel for Netanyahu Fans Rapidly Gains Influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s military command? Part of a liberal-left “deep state.” The country’s judiciary? And the thousands of Israelis protesting a polarizing judicial overhaul plan introduced by the far-right government? These are only some of the divisive messages driven home recently by presenters on Israel’s Channel 14 television station, a formerly small and niche outlet that has rapidly turned into a major influencer in the public discourse of a country that is deeply divided and in turmoil. “We are in a situation right now where these 15 people are going to establish a fascist oligarchy,” said one Channel 14 analyst, referring to the court’s 15 judges.

Persons: elitists —, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Organizations: Israel’s

☆ Preyed On by Gangs: Gun Violence Surges Within Israel’s Arab Communities
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the shots rang out, the young soccer player was in line at a butcher’s shop in an Arab town in northern Israel. A talented midfielder, Nabil Hayek, 19, was one of four people injured in the assault in late July, victims of a surge of gun violence within Israel’s Arab communities, much of it linked to loan-sharking and protection rackets run by Arab crime organizations. These gangs have proliferated over the years, preying on a population that has long faced discrimination and has limited access to bank loans. Many people have no option but to take loans from the gangs and are at their mercy when they come to collect. Unemployed young men are also lured by easy money into becoming gang foot soldiers and enforcers.

Persons: Nabil Hayek, Benjamin Netanyahu Locations: Israel

☆ As West Bank Shootings Rise, Israel’s Government Vows to Retaliate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s far-right government pledged on Tuesday to strike at Palestinian assailants, and those sending them to attack, amid what is being described as the bloodiest year in the occupied West Bank since the second Palestinian uprising about two decades ago. Within that same time frame, an apparently unarmed Palestinian man was seen on video being shot from behind and a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the head during a military raid. The government did not elaborate on its response plans, but it has been under increasing criticism for what is seen as a security failure by both its detractors and by leaders of the West Bank Jewish settler movement, who are represented by key partners in the coalition government. So far this year, about 180 Palestinians have been killed, mostly in clashes with the Israeli military or while carrying out attacks against Israelis. About 33 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks also this year, more than 20 of them in or near settlements or on roads in the West Bank.

Organizations: West Bank Locations: Israeli, Palestinian

☆ Israel’s Supreme Court Prepares to Rule on Its Own Fate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the first time in Israel’s history, all 15 of its Supreme Court justices will crowd onto the bench on Sept. 12 to hear a case together. The reason: This one is so momentous that it could not only decide the powers of the court itself but also kindle a constitutional crisis. The 15-member court — which meets in a graceful building of beige stone, straight lines and arches on a hill in Jerusalem alongside Parliament — includes secular liberals, religiously observant Jews and conservative residents of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. One justice is an Arab Israeli; six are women, including the court’s president. Many Israelis fear that the overhaul will weaken the court as a check on the government, currently the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israeli history; accelerate a rightward shift of the judiciary that started almost a decade ago; and make it more politicized and less independent.

Persons: — Organizations: West Bank Locations: Jerusalem, Arab

☆ The Face of Israel’s Protests Is a Particle Physicist
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She was arrested, briefly, in March after she encouraged protesters to block a highway. Dr. Bressler sealed her status as a symbol of the protest movement last month when she led a miles-long column of demonstrators on a multiday march to the hills of Jerusalem from coastal Tel Aviv. It evoked a biblical pilgrimage, and they picked up tens of thousands of supporters during the journey. Somebody noticed that one of Dr. Bressler’s shoes was torn and asked for her shoe size. “It’s rare that you recognize you are in a real-time historical moment,” Dr. Bressler said during an interview in the cafe, reflecting on the events of the past few months.

Persons: ardor, Bressler, “, ” Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem

It was enacted as an amendment to one of Israel’s Basic Laws, which the justices have never previously struck down. Originally, Basic Laws, which can be passed by a simple parliamentary majority, were not necessarily superior to other laws. Then in 1992, the Knesset passed a Basic Law that guaranteed dignity and liberty. “Proportionality is a balancing test,” said Rivka Weill, another law professor at Reichman University. But if the government removed Ms. Baharav-Miara, it would “cross a red line for the court,” Professor Weill said.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, —, Oded, Adam Shinar, “, it’s, ”, Kim Lane Scheppele, Aharon Barak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ronaldo Schemidt, Shinar, Rivka Weill, Weill, Gil Cohen Magen “, Aryeh Deri, Deri, Scheppele, Ronen Zvulun Organizations: Monday, Reichman University, Princeton University, ., Agence France, Princeton, Senate Locations: Israel, Israel’s, Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Jerusalem, Gali Baharav, Britain, United States

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

☆ A Somber Mood Settles Over Israel’s Antigovernment Protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

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

Long before moving into the White House, President Biden compared the relationship between the United States and Israel to that of close friends. For months, Mr. Biden refused to invite Mr. Netanyahu to Washington, which prevented at least some meetings between lower-level officials. Despite recognizing Israel, Mr. Truman refused to sell the new state offensive arms, as did his two successors. Mr. Biden’s relationship with Mr. Netanyahu has been scratchy going back years. “I don’t think the Jewish American community needs to be overly involved in this,” she said.

Persons: Long, Biden, “, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Nathan J, Diament, Isaac Herzog, Robert B, Harry S, Truman, —, Israel —, Israel, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, State James A, Baker, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald J, Trump, Mr, “ Bibi, Biden’s, Netanyahu’s, Kamala Harris, ” —, Eli Cohen, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu “, Satloff, Thomas L, Friedman, Jake Sullivan, “ It’s, ” Mr, Sullivan, Chris Coons, James E, Diana Fersko, Rabbi Fersko Organizations: Israel, Orthodox Union, American Orthodox, Democratic, Washington Institute for Near East, State, State Department, Mr, New York Times, Aspen Security, Republican, Foreign Relations, Jewish, American Jewish, American Locations: United States, Israel, Washington, American, U.S, Egypt, Suez, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Manhattan

Long before moving into the White House, President Biden compared the relationship between the United States and Israel to that of close friends. For months, Mr. Biden refused to invite Mr. Netanyahu to Washington, which prevented at least some meetings between lower-level officials. Despite recognizing Israel, Mr. Truman refused to sell the new state offensive arms, as did his two successors. Mr. Biden urged Mr. Netanyahu “not to rush” his changes and “to seek the broadest possible consensus here.”Aides insist Mr. Biden is not trying to engineer a specific outcome in an ally’s internal politics. “I don’t think the Jewish American community needs to be overly involved in this,” she said.

Persons: Long, Biden, “, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Nathan J, Diament, Isaac Herzog, Robert B, Harry S, Truman, —, Israel —, Israel, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, State James A, Baker, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald J, Trump, Mr, “ Bibi, Biden’s, Netanyahu’s, Kamala Harris, ” —, Eli Cohen, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu “, Satloff, Thomas L, Friedman, . Biden, Jake Sullivan, “ It’s, ” Mr, Sullivan, Chris Coons, James E, Diana Fersko, Rabbi Fersko Organizations: Israel, Orthodox Union, American Orthodox, Democratic, Washington Institute for Near East, State, State Department, Mr, New York Times, Aspen Security, Republican, Foreign Relations, Jewish, American Jewish, American Locations: United States, Israel, Washington, American, U.S, Egypt, Suez, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Manhattan

On a day of turbulence in the streets and in the halls of power alike, Israeli lawmakers on Monday enacted a major change in law to weaken the judiciary, capping a monthslong campaign by the right-wing governing coalition that is pitting Israelis against one another with rare ferocity. Throngs of protesters outside the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, and opposition lawmakers inside shouted that the change was a grievous blow to the rule of law, to the rights of citizens and to democracy itself. Coalition members countered that it was the judiciary that posed a threat to democracy, and said that they planned to take further steps to curb it. The measure strips Israel’s Supreme Court of the power to overturn government actions and appointments it deems “unreasonable,” a practice that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition says has effectively given the court veto power over the will of the majority. Still on the coalition’s agenda are plans to give the government more power over the selection of Supreme Court justices, among other changes.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s Organizations: Coalition Locations: Israel

Israelis marching toward Jerusalem on Saturday in protest of plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system. Adding to the uncertainty Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu was taken to the hospital to have a pacemaker implanted during a procedure in which he would be placed under sedation, his office said. “The proper balance between the authorities has been disturbed over the past decades,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a speech Thursday. “The fear is that our country won’t look like it looks today,” Ms. Holzman said of the judicial overhaul plan. Similar mass protests in March prompted the government to suspend, at least for now, other planned judicial changes.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Ilana Holzman, “, Holzman, Menahem Kahana, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shin, Netanyahu, ” Mr, Gil Cohen, Navot Silberstein, Silberstein, Ms Organizations: Agence France, Histadrut, Air Force Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, Shoresh .

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was rushed to the hospital early Sunday for surgery to implant a heart pacemaker, casting new uncertainty over his government’s deeply contentious plan to pass a law on Monday to limit judicial power. Doctors at the Sheba Medical Center, east of Tel Aviv, said on Sunday morning that the unexpected procedure had been successful and that “the prime minister is doing very well.” But Mr. Netanyahu was expected to remain hospitalized until at least Monday, a spokesman for the hospital said. The government’s weekly cabinet meeting, originally scheduled for Sunday morning, was postponed until Monday, and it was unclear whether a vote in Parliament over the judicial overhaul would proceed on Monday as planned. Mr. Netanyahu’s surgery came amid what many consider to be Israel’s gravest domestic crisis since its founding 75 years ago.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s Organizations: Sheba Medical Locations: Tel Aviv

☆ A Story of Arab Loss Comes to Life at a Kibbutz in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1946, at 16, she gave birth to Walid, Mr. Abu Shakra’s elder brother. As fighting raged in 1948 between Arab armies, Palestinian irregulars and Zionist forces, Mariam and her family fled to a Palestinian farming village, Umm al-Fahem. Today, that village has become a working-class city that sprawls across the hills a few miles west of the Jezreel Valley. His art inspired other family members to follow in his footsteps. His younger brother Said embraced video art — his installation with his mother sharing fading memories is one of the centerpieces of the Ein Harod retrospective.

Persons: Walid, Abu Shakra’s, Mariam, Said, Ein Locations: Umm, Jezreel, Walid, Tel Aviv, Hadera, Umm al

A miles-long column of antigovernment demonstrators marched into Jerusalem on Saturday evening, turning the main road to the city into a sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags, to protest the far-right government’s plan to limit judicial power. Many more joined them on subsequent days, and by Saturday the number of marchers had swelled to at least 20,000, despite the scorching heat. By the time the march reached the outskirts of Jerusalem on Saturday, the marchers were walking 10 abreast, forcing cars into a single lane of traffic. The column stretched for at least two miles and included people in motorized wheelchairs and at least one person on crutches. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” said Ilana Holzman, 65, a protester from Tel Aviv who had joined the march for its last leg on Saturday.

Persons: ”, Ilana Holzman Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Scores of people set off on a 40-mile trek on foot from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Tuesday, President Biden held a meeting with Mr. Herzog, who serves as Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, at the White House. Several lawmakers critical of Israel said they would boycott Mr. Herzog’s speech to Congress to protest the Israeli government’s policies. Some members of the Israeli military reserves have campaigned against the law, and labor unions have threatened general strikes. Scores of protesters were also marching from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, carrying blue-and-white Israeli flags and chanting “De-mo-cra-tya!” — Hebrew for democracy.

Persons: Isaac Herzog, Biden, Herzog, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, ”, “ Organizations: Doctors, U.S, White, Mr, ”, United States Embassy Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, United States

☆ Protests Simmer in Israel as Country’s President Prepares to Address Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Small protests cropped up across Israel on Wednesday, illustrating the broad, grass-roots nature of popular opposition to plans by the government to overhaul the country’s judiciary, drawing in key sectors of the economy, the security establishment and society. Employees of Israel’s vaunted high-tech industry gathered on bridges and at busy junctions. Scores of people set off on a 40-mile trek on foot from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The protests appeared timed to coincide with a planned address to the U.S. Congress by President Isaac Herzog later on Wednesday that would come at a fraught period in the relations between Israel and the United States. On Tuesday, President Biden held a meeting with Mr. Herzog, who serves as Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, at the White House.

Persons: Isaac Herzog, Biden, Herzog Organizations: Doctors, U.S, White Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, United States

☆ What’s Next for Israel’s Judicial Overhaul?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They call it “salami tactics.”Critics of the plan by Israel’s right-wing government to overhaul the country’s judiciary accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of slicing up the original legislative package in a bid to make it more palatable. Some protesters made that point by brandishing giant plastic salamis during large-scale protests on Tuesday. But Mr. Netanyahu may be searching for ways to proceed with the plan more slowly after protests in March brought parts of the country to a virtual standstill. On Wednesday, the Parliament took a step that maintained the longstanding format of the committee that selects judges. By using a more piecemeal approach to the judicial overhaul, Mr. Netanyahu may be trying to appease his hard-line coalition partners, who insist on seeing some progress on their goals, while trying to make the changes easier for critics to swallow.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu

☆ Israel’s Major Incursion in the West Bank Is Over. Did It Solve Anything?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Isabel Kershner | More About Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had finished its incursion into the West Bank city of Jenin, aimed at curbing attacks on Israelis by armed Palestinians. The 48-hour military operation was one of the largest in many years against armed militant groups in the occupied West Bank, including deadly airstrikes not seen in the area for about two decades. But few Israelis or Palestinians harbored any illusions, saying that before long, the groups that lost weapons and people to the incursion would rebuild and the troops would be back. Three decades after the Oslo peace process raised hopes that Palestinian and Israeli states could exist side by side, prospects for peaceful coexistence seem ever more remote. Underlying sources of Palestinian anger remain, including the West Bank occupation dating to the 1967 Middle Eastern war, continued encroachment by Jewish settlements and a lack of economic opportunity.

Organizations: West Bank Locations: Jenin, Oslo

☆ Israel’s Military Says It Has Withdrawn From West Bank City After Deadly Raid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Isabel Kershner | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s military said on Wednesday that it had withdrawn from the West Bank city of Jenin after a large-scale incursion that killed at least 12 Palestinians, left one Israeli soldier dead and led thousands to flee their homes. Even as Palestinian militant groups celebrated the retreat of Israeli troops — initially confirmed by Israeli and Palestinian officials — sirens blared in Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip after five missiles were fired from the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli military said. No injuries were immediately reported, and the military said Israel’s air-defense system had intercepted all five. Hamas is the Palestinian militant faction that controls Gaza. Israel’s chief military spokesman said on Wednesday morning that the operation in Jenin, focused on the refugee camp in the city, was over.

Persons: —, ”, Daniel Hagari Organizations: West Bank, Twitter, Kan News Locations: Jenin, Gaza, Palestinian

☆ Jenin Has a Long Legacy as a Bastion of Palestinian Armed Struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Israeli forces hunted for wanted men, weapons and explosives in the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin this week, after using aerial drones to blow up what they described as terrorist hubs there, the city was living up to its reputation as a center of militant defiance in the occupied West Bank. To many Israelis, the city and its environs are a dreaded incubator of terrorism that has claimed many lives over the years. During the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, the Jenin refugee camp was a prime exporter of suicide bombers to Israeli cities. Israeli officials say that more than 50 shooting attacks on Israelis have emanated from the Jenin area this year, and that 19 militants have taken refuge in the camp after carrying out attacks since last fall. To many Palestinians, Jenin, in the hilly northern reaches of the West Bank, is a heroic symbol of resilience and resistance against Israeli rule, and the rule of others who came before.

Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian, United Nations Locations: Jenin

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