Israel

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Adam Schiff says he is ‘very concerned’ about proposals that ‘would make Israel less democratic’

(JTA) — Rep. Adam Schiff, the Jewish Democrat from California who recently announced a run for the Senate, said that he was “very concerned” about proposed Israeli measures that “would make Israel less democratic or potentially place individuals above the law.”

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/07/united-states/adam-schiff-says-he-is-very-concerned-about-proposals-that-would-make-israel-less-democratic?

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Barcelona mayor severs ties with twin city of Tel Aviv, citing Israeli ‘apartheid’

(JTA) — Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau has announced that the city is no longer twinned with Tel Aviv, citing claims that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” as well as “flagrant and systematic violation of human rights.” 

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/08/global/barcelona-mayor-severs-ties-with-twin-city-of-tel-aviv-citing-israeli-apartheid?

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‘We have to leave our comfort zone’: Cautious but determined, Israeli expats protest Netanyahu’s government

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Benny Chukrun, speaking in Hebrew on a wind-whipped day outside the Israeli embassy in the U.S. capital, had a message for his fellow protesters.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/08/united-states/we-have-to-leave-our-comfort-zone-cautious-but-determined-israeli-expats-protest-netanyahus-government?

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Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s legal system.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-israel-government-democracy-benjamin-netanyahu-feda22fd27f348d3839c39bac0c699e2

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Israel’s president urges Netanyahu to delay legal overhaul

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s president on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system and instead seek a compromise with his political opponents.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-israel-government-benjamin-netanyahu-isaac-herzog-6985d1e0fa0202de8d63022146caf13c

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Benjamin Netanyahu: What are the corruption charges?

Mr Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a "witch hunt".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739

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Mass protest in Jerusalem as Knesset advances judicial reforms over widespread objections

(JTA) — An Israeli parliamentary committee voted to advance parts of the government’s proposed judicial reform on Monday, as tens of thousands of Israelis protested in Jerusalem and opposition lawmakers attempted to disrupt the vote.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/13/israel/mass-protest-in-jerusalem-as-knesset-advances-judicial-reforms-over-widespread-objections?

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Fearing ‘constitutional and social collapse,’ Israel’s president begs for compromise on judicial reform

(JTA) — Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, issued a stern warning to Israelis on Sunday night: The country is “on the brink of constitutional and social collapse” over proposed judicial reforms that would give lawmakers veto power over the Supreme Court.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/12/israel/fearing-constitutional-and-social-collapse-israels-president-begs-for-compromise-on-judicial-reform?

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Diaspora alarm over Israel: Your guide to what the critics are saying

(JTA) — I started reporting on North American Jews and Israel in the last century, and for years covered the debate over whether Jews in the Diaspora had a right to criticize the Israeli government in public. The debate sort of petered out in the early-1990s, when Israel itself began talking about a Palestinian state, and when right-wing groups then decided criticizing Israel was a mitzvah.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/12/opinion/diaspora-alarm-over-israel-your-guide-to-what-the-critics-are-saying?

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What is happening in Israel right now?

If it feels like there's an overload of news out of Israel — a sea of flags at a Jerusalem protest, police sirens outside of a synagogue — that's because there is. Israel has been consumed by two escalating crises that both appear to be crescendoing at the same time. And even though they feel separate, they’re intertwined in at least one big way. 

https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/folders=1&sortOrder=date_asc/messages/AO52Hokr1lcNY-wo0g5fsAOMwF4

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Biden administration ‘deeply concerned’ about Netanyahu’s settlement announcement

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration joined with five European countries to express its “deep concern” about Israel’s decision on Sunday to recognize nine West Bank settlement outposts.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/14/israel/biden-administration-deeply-concerned-about-netanyahus-settlement-announcement?

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Israel is a tough sell in the US as it slides toward autocracy - opinion

The prime minister insists his approach would make Israel more democratic, but the evidence points emphatically in the opposite direction.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-731717?

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Violent confrontation between troops and settlers sets off tensions in Netanyahu’s new government

(JTA) — Two far-right ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government lashed out after troops had a violent confrontation with Israeli settlers.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/15/israel/violent-confrontation-between-troops-and-settlers-sets-off-tensions-in-netanyahus-new-government?

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Major Diaspora philanthropists warn of danger to Israeli democracy

(JTA) – They have donated untold millions to develop Israel and defend it from its detractors. Now, a group of major philanthropists in North America have come together to warn that Israeli democracy is in jeopardy as the new government seeks to overhaul the judiciary and grant itself veto power over Supreme Court rulings.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/20/israel/major-diaspora-philanthropists-warn-of-danger-to-israeli-democracy?

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Jewish federations come out against Netanyahu’s judicial reform in rare critique of internal Israeli politics

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In a rare comment on internal Israeli politics, the umbrella organization for local Jewish federations is urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drop one element of his government’s controversial plan for judicial reform.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/21/israel/jewish-federations-come-out-against-netanyahus-judicial-reform-in-rare-critique-of-internal-israeli-politics?

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Israeli government advances legislation that could all but eliminate judicial review

(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition advanced a second major piece of its proposed court reform, holding an initial vote in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on a measure that would allow the government to all but eliminate judicial review.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/22/israel/israeli-government-advances-legislation-that-could-all-but-eliminate-judicial-review?

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Zionist youth group Young Judaea expresses ‘great concern’ over Israel’s proposed court reform

(JTA) — The North American Zionist youth group Young Judaea is expressing “great concern” over Israel’s proposed judicial reform and calling on the country’s lawmakers to safeguard minority rights and a system of checks and balances. 

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/23/israel/zionist-youth-group-young-judaea-expresses-great-concern-over-israels-proposed-court-reform?

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Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell visit Israel and meet with Netanyahu amid looming crises

(JTA) — Judging from the photos and the tweets, it looked like a set of normal Congressional delegations to Israel: Senators posing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. ambassador declaring that “Bipartisanship is alive and well in Israel!!” Pledges of mutual support amid external threats. Sen. Chuck Schumer standing arm-in-arm with Netanyahu, grinning. 

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/24/israel/chuck-schumer-and-mitch-mcconnell-visit-israel-and-meet-with-netanyahu-amid-looming-crises?

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As Orthodox Union and other Jewish groups condemn settler rampage, many avoid mentioning Benjamin Netanyahu

WASHINGTON (JTA) — As American Jewish organizations responded to Sunday’s settler riot in the West Bank, most began with statements of condemnation.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/27/politics/as-orthodox-union-and-other-jewish-groups-condemn-settler-rampage-many-avoid-mentioning-benjamin-netanyahu?

‘Today, I won’t condemn’: Some Netanyahu allies are declining to decry Sunday’s West Bank settler riot

(JTA) — The day after hundreds of settlers rioted in the Palestinian West Bank village of Huwara, torching houses, shops and cars, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned their actions from the floor of parliament, declaring, “We won’t accept a reality where all do as they wish — igniting houses, torching cars, intentionally injuring innocents.”

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/27/israel/today-i-wont-condemn-some-netanyahu-allies-are-declining-to-decry-sundays-west-bank-settler-riot?

3 dead after bloody day in West Bank, as settlers riot following Palestinian shooting attack

(JTA) — A gunman shot and killed two Israeli brothers driving through a West Bank town, which was later rampaged by settlers who burned cars and buildings.

https://www.jta.org/2023/02/26/israel/gunman-kills-2-israelis-in-west-bank-town-in-latest-shooting-amid-spate-of-violence?

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What’s driving the players behind Israel’s legal overhaul?

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In Israel’s divisive debate over the government’s planned legal overhaul, proponents claim that curtailing the power of judges and courts is good for the country.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-judiciary-overhaul-netanyahu-protests-9eb2a020806b5a90d2bb0a057924a3ba?

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Israeli protesters clash with police, confront PM’s wife

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Wednesday fired stun grenades and water cannons at demonstrators who blocked a Tel Aviv highway and protesters scuffled with police near the Israeli leader’s home as weeks of anti-government protests turned violent for the first time. In a late-night incident, dozens of police were called in to extract Netanyahu’s wife from a salon besieged by protesters.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-protest-netanyahu-politics-legal-83f282c1f3c136720442098ca7187a10?

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David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, criticizes Netanyahu’s plans for judicial reform

(JTA) — When David Friedman served as ambassador to Israel under former President Donald Trump, he was known for helping to shepherd through policies favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

https://www.jta.org/2023/03/01/israel/trumps-ambassador-to-israel-slams-its-governments-plans-for-judicial-reform?

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Mike Bloomberg: Israel’s judicial reforms could make Brexit’s economic effects look like ‘bubkes’

(JTA) — Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul, philanthropist and former New York mayor, is the latest pro-Israel stalwart to warn that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms could be catastrophic.

https://www.jta.org/2023/03/05/politics/mike-bloomberg-israels-judicial-reforms-could-make-brexits-economic-effects-look-like-bubkes?

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Combat pilots skip reserve duty and Entebbe veterans join protests as Netanyahu government advances judicial reforms

(JTA) — Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to oppose the government’s planned judicial reform on Saturday night, but within hours Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition advanced the legislation through the Knesset.

https://www.jta.org/2023/03/05/israel/netanyahu-government-advances-judicial-reforms-as-protests-intensify-to-include-idf-reservists?

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Israeli military caught up in divide over Netanyahu’s plan

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Shraga Tichover is hanging up his fatigues. After more than three decades as a reservist in the Israeli military, the paratrooper says he will no longer put his life on the line for a country slipping toward autocracy.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-protests-military-netanyahu-courts-f130b18a3180fad99acfe594d99efd55?