„My friends and I, many of whom are here around the table, have said this countless times, and millions of citizens who voted for the right-wing camp knew about the intention to reform the judicial system comprehensively,“ the prime minister added. „More than that, they demanded it from us. Anyone who was at our election rallies, in the city centers, in the neighborhoods, we heard the voice rising from the crowd.“
Archiv: booting Yair Lapid
Hadash-Ta’al Chair Odeh Accuses Lapid of Constantly Lying
Hadash-Ta’al MK Ayman Odeh accuses liberal opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) of “constantly lying,” pointing to comments he made earlier today saying the Arab-Jewish list is working together with Likud. “He knows that it doesn’t have a grain of truth, that it’s all lies,” Odeh says Monday at a faction meeting in the Knesset of the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction. “You didn’t succeed in leading your camp in the election, you’re not succeeding in leading the opposition,” Odeh says to Lapid. “You got used to the ‘nice Arab,” therefore it’s hard for you to deal with Arabs with a backbone.”
Who Will Lead the Real Opposition to Netanyahu’s Onslaught?
The largest demonstration held so far against the new government of Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, was notable in that none of the leaders of the parties of the previous government were present. It wasn’t just leader of the opposition Yair Lapid, who was on a brief weekend vacation in Paris. None of his other colleagues turned up either.
Israel’s New Proposed Civics Curriculum Favors Loyalty to State Over Equal Rights
Israel’s new junior high school civics curriculum highlights Jewish aspects of Israel and the power of the government while reducing the focus on civil and human rights, the status of the Arab minority, judicial oversight, equal rights and other components of democracy.
According to sources in the Education Ministry, the curriculum, which was formulated over the past year by five members of the curriculum committee (all Jews, and three are religiously observant), is expected to serve as a basis for a new high school civics program in the future. It is pending final approval.
Lapid Reiterates Hadash-Ta’al Will Not Sit in His Coalition
However, with four days left, no clear coalition can be created following Tuesday’s election, according to a final poll carried out by Panels Politics on behalf of Maariv. As in a similar poll last Friday, the Netanyahu bloc received 60 seats, the Lapid bloc received 56 seats and Hadash-Ta’al received the remaining four, the survey found. The poll showed Hadash-Ta’al. Meretz, Labor, and Islamist Ra’am passing the electoral threshold of 3.25% of the general vote.
Israel election: A far-right politician moves closer to power
For decades, Ben Gvir was a political untouchable. His roots in the overtly racist Kach party — founded by a radical American rabbi, Meir Kahane, and banned by Israel — put him beyond the fringe of even the most right-wing parties. That changed last year when then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had lost his governing coalition and was desperate for a few more parliamentary votes, invited Ben Gvir into his alliance.
Netanyahu downplayed his maneuver, largely dismissing Ben Gvir as a backbencher who wouldn’t play a major role in government.
What a difference a year makes.
Israel: Former army chief says Ben Gvir could spark ‘civil war’
Ben Gvir – leader of the Religious Zionism party and who the Israeli army refused to draft due to his extremist activities and views – is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Polls have credited his bloc with up to 14 seats in Israel’s parliament, which would make it the third-largest faction.
Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that if he were to regain his position as the Israeli premier, Ben Gvir would be a minister in his government.
Amnesty Says ICC Israel Probe Should Include ‚Crime Against Humanity of Apartheid‘
(October 25, 2022)
Calling for the International Criminal Court to open a new investigation into possible war crimes by Israeli military forces in Gaza in August, Amnesty International on Tuesday said the court must also include Israel’s illegal apartheid policies against the Occupied Palestinian Territories in its probe.
The organization’s call centered on the three-day offensive launched by Israel between August 5-8 in the Gaza Strip, with advocates saying its research suggests three specific attacks could amount to war crimes.
This Election Poll Made the Israeli Left Panic, as It Should
In the early stages of the campaign, when parties could still merge with others, Lapid begged Merav Michaeli, the leader of Labor, to join forces with Meretz. Even the James Webb telescope would fail to find ideological differences between the two parties. Michaeli, whatever her reasons may have truly been, shot down the idea. Now she could enter history books as the first Labor leader to remain beneath the threshold, and outside the Knesset.
WATCH NOW: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to Haaretz: ‘Isn’t It Time for [Israel] to Choose Sides? The Democratic World, or Russian Terror?’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Haaretz Democracy Conference on Monday, saying that Moscow’s military cooperation with Tehran will likely result in Russia assisting Iran with the development of its nuclear program.
In the prerecorded video message, the Ukrainian leader said that Iran’s sale of suicide drones and provision of military instructors to Russian forces operating in his country would not have been possible without Israel’s decision to stay neutral in the conflict.
‚Time to Take a Side‘: U.S. Lawmakers Push Israel on Aid to Ukraine
Murphy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee dedicated to the Middle East, noted that Israel is not the only country that possesses the Iron Dome missile defense system that could potentially help Ukraine.
“The United States, in fact, could move toward transferring some of our Iron Dome capabilities to Ukraine, as well. I think Israel can do much more here,” the Connecticut senator said, adding: “These drones are absolutely devastating when they hit civilian areas“.
As missiles strike Ukraine, Israel won’t sell its vaunted air defense
(12.10.2022)
Israel’s Iron Dome air defense, which boasts a 90 percent success rate against rockets fired against it, will stay out of Ukraine’s reach, experts said, as Jerusalem seeks to maintain strategic relations with Russia in Syria and other hot spots.
Israel’s Defense and Foreign ministries and the prime minister’s office uniformly declined to comment Wednesday on long-standing requests from Ukraine and its supporters for it to give, sell or loan Ukraine the system, including calls made since Monday’s barrage.
Israel Hayom poll predicts election tie in Nov. 1 vote
(today)
Survey shows that were elections to be held now, the Netanyahu and Lapid blocs would garner 60 seats each, just one short of forming a coalition.
The upcoming election could be determined by a single Knesset seat, a poll conducted by Israel Hayom ahead of the Nov. 1 vote showed.
Hadash-Ta’al Slams Lapid, Michaeli for Refusing to Block Barring of Arab Parties
Hadash-Ta’al commented on the Central Election Commission’s decision to disqualify Balad’s candidacy for the 25th Knesset. “The decision to disqualify Balad is an unfortunate decision. [Benny] Gantz, [Yair] Lapid and [Meirav] Michaeli proved that they are right-wing in disguise. Despite the anger of the racists who want to keep the Arabs away from the polling stations, on election day we all flock to the polling stations.”
Elections panel blocks Balad party’s run for Knesset, against AG’s advice
Balad and several of its lawmakers have been disqualified by past elections panels, and have so far won every appeal to the High Court to be reinstated. The party is expected to make a similar appeal to return to November’s contest following Thursday’s disqualification.
Earlier on Thursday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara released a letter to the committee stating that there was no basis for disqualifying either Balad or the Islamist Ra’am party. The panel ultimately cleared Ra’am’s path to the ballot box, dismissing petitions that alleged the party supported terrorist organizations.
Israel: Balad banned from election run, Ra’am qualifies
(29.09.2022)
Despite appeals filed alleging that Ra’am „supports terrorism,“ the vote to allow their running passed 14-0, with representatives from Likud, the Religious Zionist Party, Yesh Atid, and Labor not present.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz of the National Unity Party ruled on Thursday that all of his party representatives on the election committee will vote to disqualify Balad from running for parliament.
Israeli Prime Minister Lapid backs two-state solution in UN speech
Why it matters: It’s the first time Lapid as prime minister has given a speech backing a two-state solution. Lapid made clear that the establishment of a Palestinian state must have security arrangements for Israel.
It’s also the first time since 2017 that an Israeli prime minister has publicly expressed support for a two-state solution.
Flashback: Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the two-state solution in a speech in May 2009.
The Israeli call for action against Iran is coming from inside the house
In a surprising turn of events, the call for more aggressive action against an Iran deal is coming from inside the house, or at least the Prime Minister’s Office.
Lapid briefed foreign journalists last Thursday that Israel successfully convinced the US to insist on certain points in the Iran deal, contributing to Washington’s “no” response to much of Tehran’s latest demands.
Joint Statement by the Spokespersons of the Foreign Ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden
We are deeply concerned by the raids which took place in the morning of 18 August, as part of a worrying reduction of space for civil society in the oPT. These actions are not acceptable.
The further reduction of civil space in the oPT remains a source of concern. We stand firm with NGOs to uphold the right to freedom of expression and association in the oPT.
A free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for a two state solution. As we stated on 12 July, no substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organisations’. Should convincing evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly.
🇧🇪🇩🇰🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇪🇮🇹🇳🇱🇪🇸🇸🇪 Statement by the Foreign Ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden on the Israeli raids of six Palestinian civil society organisations on 18 August 2022.
‚Not Acceptable‘ | Nine European States Slam Israeli Raids of Palestinian NGOs
In October, Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order declaring Addameer, Al-Haq, the Bisan Center for Research & Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees as terrorist organizations. The Defense Ministry claims that they are part of a funding network operated by the largely-defunct Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a charge that all six groups deny.
Uninvolved: These Are the 36 Palestinian Civilians Killed During Israel’s Gaza Op
6:45 pm IDT
Forty-nine Palestinians have been killed as a result of the latest military escalation between Israel and Islamic Jihad, which lasted three days. They include five girls, 11 boys and four women.
Thirty were killed during Israeli strikes. Of those, 17 were civilians, among them three girls, a boy and four women. Botched launches of Palestinian rockets killed 19 non-combatants, including 12 children.