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The lawmakers with Likud and other right-wing parties stormed out of the room amid a heated debate on the legality of the gathering, paving the way to a 16-1 vote overruling a prior vote that granted Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein the power to pick members of the House Committee.
At the start of the gathering, panel chair Avi Nissenkorn (Blue & White party) urged lawmakers to abstain from trying to sabotage the discussion on immunity.
It’s a dry procedural vote — technically an overturning of a previous decision of the Arrangements Committee on December 15 reserving that right to the Knesset speaker — but with dramatic consequences.
The Israeli opposition pushed Sunday for parliament to swiftly address Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity request, potentially speeding up the embattled leader’s appearance in court.
As Knesset Speaker, Yuli Edelstein has the authority to block the Knesset Arrangements Committee from meeting, thereby blocking the convening of the House Committee and preventing it from discussing the immunity request.
This is Edelstein’s most important test as an elected official: Will he be faithful to his position as Knesset speaker, or will he be faithful to the man who has decided to hold the country hostage?
By requesting immunity Netanyahu hopes to postpone all of this until after the March 2 election. But he knows from all the incessant polling he has carried out that this is a hard sell, even among his right-wing base. In recent days, he tried to float his “immunity is a cornerstone of democracy” canard, but it didn’t fly.
Am 2. März ist eine dritte Parlamentswahl angesetzt. Nach Einschätzung des Politik-Experten Amir Fuchs wird vor einer Regierungsbildung nach der Wahl kein Komitee zustande kommen. Eine Abstimmung über die Immunität könne damit möglicherweise erst im Mai stattfinden.
According to Israeli law, the Knesset House Committee is to discuss his request and should it be approved, the request will need to pass a vote by the Knesset plenum.
However, since the House Committee has not been appointed since the April general election, and is not expected to be assembled before the upcoming March election, the discussion will only take place in several months. Until the committee makes a decision, an indictment against Netanyahu can’t be handed officially to the court.
Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deadline to formally request immunity from Knesset (Israeli parliament) Speaker Yuli Edelstein expires Wednesday night.
It is expected that Netanyahu will opt for protection from prosecution in three corruption cases against him, Hebrew media reported.
Netanyahu has said he will announce this week whether he will seek parliamentary immunity from prosecution. The survey found that just 33 percent supporting such a move and 51% oppose it — indicating that there is significant objection even within the right.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has added a new definition to the language he’s invented, which he is using to distort reality. On Saturday night he said that his appeal to the Knesset to grant him immunity “would not be avoiding standing trial.” As is his wont, Netanyahu is trying to confuse the public and plant doubts regarding what is self-evident, whether this applies to norms of governance, social norms or dictionary definitions. All of this is meant to garner public support for his reckless conduct and his flight from the arm of the law.
(26.12.2019)
https://t.co/2opJERA3xe JPost
For a decade, Netanyahu dominated Israel like few others since founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, leaving a huge imprint on every sphere: diplomatic, economic, military.
But in 2019 – Netanyahu’s own annus horribilis, as Queen Elizabeth II referred to her own “horrible year” in 1992 – his utter dominance began to fade.
Channel 12 reported earlier this month that Israel’s longest-serving premier will request immunity by the end of December.
if I may, I would like to apply pressure on the judges from the other end of the spectrum. Not from the side of Netanyahu’s devotees, but from the side of those who are devoted to an impartial process, the rule of law and the continued peaceful existence of our democracy.
Please, do not involve yourself in this matter. Looking out at the world through the windows of the halls of justice can obscure the bigger picture sometimes. Caring only for your close compatriots and friends could be dangerous.
We’re in this situation because of the cowards – people like Mendelblit, who had no problem accepting a role as a gatekeeper without growing the requisite backbone. We’re here because for months after the recommendations by the police and the prosecution, the attorney general continued to drag his feet.
And after deciding to file indictments, he didn’t intervene as Netanyahu dragged us into yet another election while using all the power of his status to vilify the legal system that the attorney general is supposed to defend.
Das israelische Parlament hat in einer Vorabstimmung für seine eigene Auflösung votiert. Damit ebneten die Abgeordneten den Weg für eine dritte Parlamentswahl innerhalb von zwölf Monaten.
The corruption involved in the purchase of submarines and ships from the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp makes it among the worst such affairs in Israel’s history. It involves bribery, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering by a criminal network that functioned at the highest levels of Israel’s government and business people between 2009 and 2019 , funnelling government funds from the defense budget into private pockets, by swaying decisions regarding purchases from the German shipbuilder.
Unfortunately, history teaches that the current legislative branch has ceased to be a separate entity that can help balance the executive branch; it’s an arm of the cabinet. In effect, of the three branches of modern democracy, only two remain.
According to the report, Edelstein planned to announce an agreed deal in a press conference on Wednesday, after receiving signatures supporting the move from Blue & White’s Benny Gantz, Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Liberman, and two-thirds of the Likud faction.
However, at the end of a five-day political maneuver, the Likud’s second on the Knesset list — preceded only by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — realized he does not have enough votes to push forth the idea,
Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz met on Thursday with the leaders of the Joint List, an alliance of four Arab-majority parties, as part of his effort to form a governing coalition after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do so.
MK Ofer Shelah of Kahol Lavan, who was interviewed after Tibi, said he did not rule out such a proposal.
The Israeli government has done everything in its power to reject those of us who are Arab Palestinian citizens, but our influence has only grown. We will be the cornerstone of democracy.
Parliamentarian Aymen Odeh told Army Radio Wednesday morning he would consider supporting Netanyahu’s chief political rival as official results trickling in continued to solidify a strong showing for the coalition of Arab parties.
The chairman of the Joint List of Arab parties, Ayman Odeh, said Wednesday that he may recommend Blue and White leader Benny Gantz as the next prime minister when he meets with President Reuven Rivlin.
Gantz has already reached out to him, Odeh said, adding that “on Wednesday afternoon, we will decide which path to take.”
(11.09.2019)
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein had Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) forcibly removed from the Knesset chamber on Wednesday, September 11, during the debate before a vote on the contentious bill that would have allowed cameras to be deployed in polling stations during the general elections on Tuesday, September 17.
The poll also contains good news for Netanyahu – it has the far-right Otzma Yehudit party passing the electoral threshold and receiving four seats, giving the right-wing bloc led by Likud 59 seats without the support of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu – close to the 61 required to create a coalition, with the center-left bloc garnering 54 seats.
Netanyahu has been in favor, since his earliest days as a politician over three decades ago, of a presidential system of governance – without insisting on a constitution to check and balance the president’s power, however. He sees the Israeli parliament as an unnecessary nuisance. In recent years, he has described every perfectly legal and legitimate attempt to replace him as a “coup.” As far as he’s concerned, the only purpose of an election is to confirm his personal mandate to rule.
Hadash MK Ofer Cassif placed responsibility for the escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday, September 1, at the doorstep of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him “the serial criminal from Balfour Street.”
Cassif said “Netanyahu and his servants are responsible” for the recent clash, adding they mean to “occupy the seat of power with blood and to ensure the criminal [Netanyahu] will escape prison.”
Joint List leader, MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) agreed saying, “We will not be silent when the cannons roar” and warned that a further war “will not bring security, only death, destruction and victims on both sides.”
The formation of the joint ticket has been delayed by disagreements over who should occupy the 11th through 14th slots on the slate (Jack Khoury, Monday). But if they can’t bridge these gaps and reunite as the Joint List, those slots are likely to be irrelevant in any case.
Strengthening Arab representation in the legislature and toppling the government are necessary conditions for fighting the Netanyahu-led coalition that passed the nation-state law. This isn’t the time for unnecessary quarrels or disputes that can be resolved after the election. The Israeli voter rewards political mergers. The Joint List must be promptly reconstituted.
There is only one reason behind all of this: A lack of agreement over who will get the 11th through 14th places on the Knesset slate
The dispute is over how to divide spots 11 through 14 on the joint ticket, the same problem that scotched the four-party framework in the election this past April.
Jurist Raif Zreik, who is holding talks with the parties, has warned in recent days about a massive hemorrhaging of the Arab community’s confidence in the parties.
„Netanyahu pressed the button for the Knesset dissolution and there is no turning back,“ Gantz says in a statement to the media from Tel Aviv. „Netanyahu sees (election) polls and invents lies.“
Anyone speaking to people close to the prime minister and his ministers are hearing panic that stems not just from Benjamin Netanyahu’s vigorous attempt to stop the clock on the new election. On the agenda, they whisper, is a pending security crisis. The evil will come from the Persian Gulf, the Gaza Strip or the northern border, generated by Iran and its proxies. Then the military agenda will soon overwhelm the political one, overshadowing the political parties’ petty considerations.
TV survey projects center-left and Arab parties would win more seats than right-wing and Orthodox factions, though path to forming government far from clear
Speaking this morning with Army Radio, Yuli Edelstein said that Knesset members from many factions approached him to discuss the election. „All the conversation ended with the same line: ‚Wow, what a mistake we made.'“
(21.06.2019)
Hadash (The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) and three political parties representing the Arab-Palestinian national minority in Israel, Ta’al, Ra’am and Balad, have announced they will reunite for the upcoming Knesset elections.
Sources in the Knesset said that the prime minister could push for a law cancelling the Knesset’s dispersal despite Yinon’s view, however the High Court of Justice would most likely block the move. Sources told Haaretz the chance of passing a law that would annul the dissolvement is practically zero.
Netanyahu and Blue and White party co-chairman Benny Gantz are reportedly not personally involved in any negotiations over a unity government.
Blue and White issued a statement reacting to the report, saying, “There is only one option for cancelling the elections: Netanyahu steps down to deal with his legal issues and Blue and White will lead a wide government.”
Yair Lapid, the co-chair of opposition party Kahol Lavan, said on Sunday that he believes a unity government headed by his outfit is the „right thing for Israel.“
Lapid said he would agree to form a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to comments made by former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday.
If Netanyahu refuses to confirm his attendance by today’s deadline, then the hearing will be canceled and a summary decision would be made that could lead to his indictment within days or weeks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Likud lawmaker Amir Ohana as justice minister on Wednesday. Political sources told Haaretz that Ohana was appointed because unlike other Likud members, he supports changes that would grant immunity from indictment to acting prime ministers, as Netanyahu is facing possible indictment in three cases of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
Wittes attributes this dramatic possibility to Israel’s anomalous constitutional regime, which he characterizes as “super-weird.”
Asked to elaborate, he explains in a follow-up email that, beyond the fact that Israel lacks a written constitution (which is not in itself unique), it also has “the combination, on the one hand, of a system of parliamentary supremacy, and, on the other hand, a highly aggressive court that asserts broad authority of judicial review.” Ironically, however, anything the High Court does can be reversed by the legislature, “given that the court’s authority itself is a creature of the Knesset.”
Israeli law does not prohibit an outgoing prime minister from appointing or dismissing ministers before an election nor does it require Knesset approval if the appointee is already a Knesset member.
A moment before democracy was burned on the stake, Israel received a second chance. We must take full advantage of it.
Netanyahu may win the new election but it will be too late to push through the High Court override and the immunity from prosecution: Who will sign a coalition agreement with someone on his political deathbed?
Netanyahu wollte Neuwahlen eigentlich verhindern. Ein erneuter Urnengang würde das Land „ein Vermögen kosten und uns alle für ein weiteres halbes Jahr lähmen“, sagte er, scheiterte dann jedoch mit seinen Koalitionsverhandlungen.
Israel hatte am 9. April vorzeitig sein Parlament gewählt.
Political commentators said that as the prospects dimmed for a compromise with Lieberman, Netanyahu would focus his efforts on enlisting the 61 votes needed in parliament to approve a new election.
The Knesset on Monday took a big step toward dissolving the parliament and calling a second national election within months, as last-ditch coalition talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman failed to produce a breakthrough.
Angesichts der Pattsituation bei den Koalitionsverhandlungen hat das israelische Parlament gestern einen ersten Schritt in Richtung vorgezogene Neuwahlen unternommen. In der ersten von drei notwendigen Lesungen stimmten 65 von 114 Abgeordneten der Knesset für ein Gesetz, das die Auflösung des Parlaments vorsieht.
Kahol Lavan, Labor and Meretz organized the protest, but the Arab parties were not invited. Several hours before the protest and following public pressure, Gantz invited Arab Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh, the chairman of Hadash, to speak.
Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv Saturday, protesting proposed legislation granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution on a series of corruption charges.
The protesters outside the city’s Museum of Art also called for protecting Israel’s democratic identity against government overreach.
The phrasing of the Basic Law on the Knesset is ambiguous and does not explicitly state the number of MKs needed for the initial vote of confidence to establish a new government
MK Miki Zohar (Likud) submitted on Tuesday a draft for a new Immunity Law, that would prevent MKs from being brought to criminal trial.
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit agreed on Wednesday to postpone Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s indictment hearing until October.
(28.03.2019)
Mendelblit, who returned Sunday from a trip to Japan, had asked the lawyers to hold the hearing by July 10, but is expected to agree to a hearing held by the end of September.
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
(29.03.2019)
Part of Ganor’s testimony involved allegations that Netanyahu gave his consent to the sale of advanced submarines by ThyssenKrupp to Egypt, and that the Prime Minister had misled investigators by telling them that he had shared with Mandelblit information on why the sale was necessary – even though he was unwilling to tell them, because it was a “state secret.” Blue and White candidates have in recent days accused Netanyahu of a coverup,
(16.05.2019)
Amid reports the PM will seek legislation that will protect him from prosecution in 3 criminal cases, ToI publishes in English for the first time the full interim charge sheet
If the new government now being formed is based on an agreement to enact an override clause that would let the Knesset annul court rulings that overturn legislation and decisions by government agencies, we must go to war to defend our homes. Not only, or even primarily, the Supreme Court’s home, but the home of each and every one of us.
We’ve already learned that a right-wing coalition will dance to the tune of the far-right, which Bezalel Smotrich, now reinforced by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Meir Kahane’s legacy will celebrate. Woe to us if our lives and rights are in their hands without anyone having the power to curb them.
(11.05.2019)
Likud has gathered a number of expert opinions regarding the legal systems of Canada and England, countries where the parliament can pass laws over the objection of the Supreme Court.
AG reportedly set to agree to several weeks’ deferral; Justice Ministry official: ‘No one is under any illusions: Netanyahu wants to buy time to arrange immunity for himself’
Israel wählt heute ein neues Parlament. In Umfragen liegen die Likud-Partei von Premier Netanyahu und das „Blau-Weiß“-Bündnis von Ex-Armeechef Gantz gleichauf.
It’s impossible to overestimate the gravity of the so-called “French law” in its proposed Israeli version. It would mean the total disintegration, the absolute shattering of the rules of the game, a thuggish, Mafioso act, an obscenity against democracy. Personal, retroactive legislation (a decision to try Netanyahu, subject to a hearing, already exists) that would intervene in a legal procedure and turn the government of Israel into a sanctuary city for criminals.
Only three Israeli parties openly support two-state solution
In israelischen Medien wird davon ausgegangen, dass das Netanjahu-Lager die Information an die Medien weiterspielte, um Gantz unter Druck zu bringen.
Dieser wies alle Vorwürfe zurück und bestritt die Behauptung Netanjahus, auf dem Handy hätten sich sensible Daten befunden. Er sei daher auch nicht erpressbar. Netanjahu griff Gantz bei einer Pressekonferenz jedoch an und warf ihm vor, die Unwahrheit zu sagen: „Was wissen die Iraner über dich, das du uns nicht sagst?“
MK Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the National Union party, has already announced that he supports passing legislation to spare Netanyahu from standing trial while in office. Two other parties, Hayamin Hehadash and United Torah Judaism, have said they would consider supporting such a bill.
But the Kulanu party said it would oppose any such legislation.
A week after the Attorney General’s decision to indict far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, several surveys conducted by the Israeli media indicate a reversal in the neck and neck race between the blocs, with 61 seats now predicted for the center and left, as opposed to 59 for the right.
If we are to defeat this dangerous alliance, we must provide a clear alternative. The only way for the left to prevail is to choose solidarity and the shared Jewish-Arab struggle for peace, equality and democracy.
Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel represent 20 percent of the population. We cannot change the course of the country alone. But there is no electoral math that leads to victory for a center-left-wing coalition without the participation of the Arab parties.
After successfully instilling public opinion with an automatic association between “the left” and disloyalty in the service of malevolent foreigners, Netanyahu and his Likud messengers are studiously attaching the stigma to their political rivals including, most ludicrously, former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and his newly-formed Blue and White party, which would be classified as center-right by any normal standard. For those too dense to comprehend, Netanyahu now insists on expanding the term “left” with the arguably racist determiner “backed by Arabs” to drive home the opposition’s subversive treachery.
(25.2.2019) Last week, the remnants of the National Religious Party – known in its latest incarnation as Habayit Hayehudi – merged with Otzma Yehudit, a party whose members embrace the racist ideology of the late Kahane and are disciples of his. The party he originally founded, known as Kach, is outlawed in Israel. The alliance was pushed by Netanyahu, who feared that without the Kahanists joining their ranks, Habayit Hayehudi might not reach the electoral threshold, jeopardizing his ability to form a right-wing majority bloc after the April 9 election.
American Jewish Committee (AJC) does not normally comment on political parties and candidates during an election. But with the announcement that Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Power”), a new political party formed by longtime followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, is now seeking election to the Knesset, we feel compelled to speak out.
Netanyahu lost his moral compass years ago, but his electoral deal with Israel’s most extreme racists is a moment of crisis, and a test, for American Jews. Don’t fail it
(21.2.2019)
The order of candidates is:
1. Rabbi Rafi Peretz (Jewish Home)
2. Bezalel Smotrich (National Union)
3. Motti Yogev (Jewish Home)
4. Ofir Sofer (National Union)
5. Michael Ben Ari (Otzma Yehudit)
6. Idit Silman (Jewish Home)
7. Orit Strook (National Union)
8. Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit)
9. Yossi Cohen (National Union)
10. Davidi Ben Zion (Jewish Home)
(video)
Knesset Vice Chairman Yisrael Eichler (UTJ) expressed concern over MK Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party joining together with Benny Gantz’s new „Israel Resilience“ party, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
In his opinion, if the Lapid-Gantz joint party comes to power, it will seriously harm the haredi community, causing a bloodless „civil war.“
(4.1.2018) Opinion: With the departure of MK Dov Khenin, the Knesset is losing one of its most diligent and accomplished members, unlike so many others who constantly seek media coverage and sensational headlines.
Numbering 1.8 million and constituting just over 20 per cent of Israel’s population, Palestinian citizens of Israel represent an increasingly strong proportion of the Israeli electorate. In 2015, 82 per cent of these voters opted for the Joint List, giving the alliance 13 seats in the 120-seat Israeli Knesset.
Sehr zum Leidwesen der E.U.-Reichsbürger und ihrer entsprechenden Pendants kann in der Berliner Republik die Verfassung nur durch Zwei-Drittel-Mehrheit in zwei Parlamentskammern (Bundestag und Bundesrat) geändert und nur durch eine Volksabstimmung gestürzt werden.
Im Gegensatz dazu werden Israels „Grundgesetze“ lediglich in einer einzigen Parlamentskammer (der Knesset) mit absoluter Mehrheit beschlossen, wie alle anderen Gesetze. Inwieweit sich der Status der „Grundgesetze“, die irgendwann einmal eine Verfassung bilden sollen, überhaupt von allen anderen Gesetzen unterscheidet, ist in Israel bis heute umstritten.
In her speech, Livni railed against the right-wing government, called for early elections and said the opposition would pass the Declaration of Independence as a basic law in lieu of the nation-state law passed by the right-wing coalition on July 19.
(3.7.2018) The incident in questioned occurred after a protest in Haifa against the killing of Palestinians along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Odeh had gone to the Bnei Zion (Rothschild) Medical Center in Haifa to visit human rights activist Jafar Farah, who claims that an Israel Police officer had cursed and beaten him during the demonstration. When the police tried to prevent the MK from entering the hospital, Odeh responded by yelling insults at them, telling them, “Who are you at all? Go to hell!“ And, he added, “You are nothing!”
Ethics Committee members decided that with such behavior, Odeh had violated the directive whereby MKs must act in a way that is appropriate to their status as representatives of the public.
(29.7.2018) The investigation first focused on the sponge-tipped bullets. The police rebutted Odeh’s claim that he was hit by one, arguing that no fire was directed at him and that he was hit by stones thrown by protesters. A medical report could not determine what caused his wound, and questions remain.
Haaretz has learned that none of the policemen had mentioned the confrontation with Odeh in his report, and investigators could not identify who used the pepper spray, even though the entire incident was documented on videotape.
Er könne seinem Enkel nicht ins Gesicht sagen, dass er Teil eines Parlaments geblieben sei, das dieses Gesetz verabschiedet habe, sagte der Politiker der oppositionellen Zionistischen Einheitspartei gestern dem Sender Reshet TV.
Er wolle „diesem destruktiven, rassistischen, extremistischen Parlament“ keine Legitimität verleihen, sagte Bahlul in dem Interview.
(19.7.2018)
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will meet a delegation of Israeli Arab lawmakers, headed by Joint List head Ayman Odeh in Brussels on September 4. This is the first time Mogherini would be meeting with Israeli Arab lawmakers.
(10.7.2018) Benjamin Netanyahu has a message for you. ‚Jewish‘ is not what this state is. Our message, our mission has become something else. And it starts with an F.
Some 7,000 demonstrators in Tel Aviv march from Rabin Square to an ‚emergency rally‘ to protest the bill ■ New Israel Fund CEO: ‚This is tribalism at its worst‘