Archiv: New National Camp / Tkuma (National Union / HaIchud HaLeumi) / Noam (Lazuz) / Religious Zionist Party


30.01.2024 - 07:32 [ Times of Israel ]

Cabinet members call to resettle Gaza, encourage Gazans to leave, at jubilant conference

(29.01.2024)

Speaking amid a carnival-like atmosphere at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party, extolled the virtues of creating new settlements, declaring: “God willing, we will settle and we will be victorious.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the extreme-right Otzma Yehudit party, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not present, and the audience that it was “time to return home to Gush Katif” — the name of the Israeli settlement bloc in Gaza that was evacuated in the 2005 Disengagement.

23.01.2024 - 04:44 [ Times of Israel ]

No-confidence motion against Netanyahu fails in Knesset, with only 18 votes in favor

With the government’s popularity plummeting, a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless garnered only 18 votes in the Knesset on Monday evening, falling far short of the necessary majority to pass in the 120-strong Knesset plenum.

The vote was boycotted by the coalition, whose heads stated earlier in the day that they would “not take part in political theater during wartime.”

22.11.2023 - 04:49 [ Times of Israel ]

Cabinet approves deal for release of 50 hostages in exchange for multi-day ceasefire

In exchange, Israel has agreed to a ceasefire for at least four days for the first time since the outbreak of the war.

12.10.2023 - 14:49 [ Blake Allen / Twitter ]

Obviously we won’t know until more details come out but since the unity government is with Benny Gantz and not Yair Lapid that means that Ben Gvir and Smotrich will remain in government. That’s horrible for a host of reasons

12.10.2023 - 14:45 [ Louis Weijl / Twitter ]

It‘s not clear to me who is and isn‘t in it. Not Lapid (yet), Liberman, nor Michaeli, but Ben Gvir and Smuthrich? What kind of ‚unity‘ is that? We are used to Gantz immediately taking action. As soon as he can move up a step, he forgets principles and agreements.

19.08.2023 - 20:06 [ Haaretz ]

Israeli Activist Detained for Placing Art Installation Near Far-right Party Headquarters

The organizations involved include Standing Together, Peace Now, Breaking the Silence, and Combatants for Peace. The activists also placed stickers reading, „Caution! Terror supporters and architects of the [judicial] coup work in this building.“

Speaking to Haaretz, the activist who was detained – Nadav Weiman – said that a day before he was brought in for questioning, a person who took over his apartment lease in Tel Aviv called him and told him that three police officers knocked on his door looking for him. According to Weiman, police called him and asked him to come in for questioning only after they didn‘t find him in his apartment.

04.08.2023 - 18:11 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu‘s Mafioso Ministers Gave Israelis a Foretaste of Tyranny

When cabinet ministers, under the leadership and guidance of the prime minister and justice minister, two human demons who have taken over the state, insult and denounce the High Court of Justice merely for hearing petitions (which it could end up rejecting), Israel can no longer be seen as a democratic, liberal state. Nor is it Jewish, because what Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir and Eliyahu and Strock represent is not Judaism. It is messianism, racism and degradation.

23.07.2023 - 21:12 [ Haaretz ]

Smotrich in Tel Aviv: ‚Overhaul protesters, way you feel now is how we felt in Oslo‘

Speaking to a crowd of pro-judicial overhaul demonstrators in Tel Aviv, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: „Those against the reform, I understand how you‘re feeling, this is how we felt during Oslo,“ referencing how right-wing Israelis felt during the Oslo peace process led by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during the 90s.

18.07.2023 - 10:26 [ Haaretz ]

In Israel, Growing Fascism and a Racism Akin to Early Nazism

(Jan 19, 201)

The left is no longer capable of overcoming the toxic ultra-nationalism that has evolved here, the kind whose European strain almost wiped out a majority of the Jewish people. The interviews Haaretz’s Ravit Hecht held with Smotrich and Zohar (December 3, 2016 and October 28, 2017) should be widely disseminated on all media outlets in Israel and throughout the Jewish world. In both of them we see not just a growing Israeli fascism but racism akin to Nazism in its early stages.

Like every ideology, the Nazi race theory developed over the years.

09.07.2023 - 20:00 [ Haaretz ]

They Incited Rabin‘s Murder. Now They‘re Murdering Israel‘s Democracy

Following Rabin’s murder, the public turned against Netanyahu. Many believed his political career was over. But he was soon brought to power amid a wave of terror by Hamas and a slick campaign capitalizing on the public‘s fears.

And that original assault against democracy, secular law and territorial compromise that launched both Netanyahu’s career and the ascent of the religious right, is today continuing its illiberal advance via a legal hijacking.

04.07.2023 - 18:33 [ Haaretz ]

„Reasonableness Standard“: Knesset Panel Greenlights Bill Key to Israel‘s Judicial Coup

Religious Zionism lawmaker Simcha Rothman, chair of the committee and a key architect of the judicial overhaul, said he intends to advance the motion which seeks to reduce the courts’ ability to overturn government decisions it deems illegal, on Tuesday afternoon, setting it up for a vote in the Knesset itself next week.

23.05.2023 - 21:04 [ Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي / Nitter ]

Protest at the Knesset as Netanyahu government passes a budget granting exorbitant allocations to West Bank settlements and to the ultra-Orthodox communities

23.05.2023 - 21:01 [ Haaretz ]

Thousands of Israelis Protesting Outside Knesset Ahead of Crucial State Budget Vote

The demonstrators are protesting the government’s proposed state budget that is slated to send billions of shekels to the ultra-Orthodox communities. Protest organizers said in a statement that this “isn’t a state budget [that’s being put up for a vote], but rather raiding the public coffers that will destroy Israel’s economy for generations to come.”

20.05.2023 - 22:28 [ Haaretz ]

20th Week of Protests – ‚Robbing Our Children of Their Futures, With Our Money‘: Israelis Protest Controversial Budget, Judicial Overhaul

he Knesset is slated to devote several days next week to debating and passing the budget.

Despite the tension, leaders of all the coalition parties expect the budget to pass next week and say the government is at no real risk of falling. “In the long run, things can’t work this way, but at least for now, the budget will pass,” one minister said. “There’s no immediate threat to the government.”

04.04.2023 - 21:40 [ New York Times ]

Israel Moves Forward With Far-Right Plan for National Guard

(02.04.2023)

The form and leadership of the national guard were yet to be determined and will take months to be fleshed out by a committee of government officials, who will then present their proposal for the cabinet’s approval.

Regardless of the form the guard ultimately takes, the government’s decision on Sunday reflected the influence that figures like Mr. Ben-Gvir, a once-marginal activist, wield within the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

02.04.2023 - 18:35 [ Times of Israel ]

Ministers approve Ben Gvir-led national guard, major budget cuts to fund it

After a heated discussion at their weekly cabinet meeting, ministers voted Sunday in favor of forming a national guard under the command of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, along with a major budget cut across all ministries to fund it.

The controversial force is expected to comprise 2,000 servicemembers who will report directly to the far-right minister and will be tasked with tackling “nationalist crime” and terrorism, and “restoring governance where needed.”

02.04.2023 - 16:07 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Thousands Rally Against Forming Fascist Ben Gvir-led National Guard

(31.03.2023)

Addressing the protest, the head of the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction likened the National Guard to “the brown shirts” of the Nazi paramilitary, “or the yellow shirts,” MK Ayman Odeh said in reference to the color included in the logo of several Israeli nationalist groups, including the Jewish supremacist Kach movement that Ben Gvir was active in as a teen. Kach was founded by the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who Ben Gvir and other members of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party have described themselves as disciples of. “We won’t allow you to form fascist militias in the service of Kahanism,” Odeh said at the protest.

02.04.2023 - 16:02 [ Haaretz ]

Israel‘s AG, Police and Shin Bet Chiefs Oppose Establishing National Guard Under Ben-Gvir

Ben-Gvir‘s proposal to establish a national guard will be discussed Sunday during the weekly cabinet meeting.

28.03.2023 - 06:52 [ Haaretz ]

Israel‘s Opposition Overtakes Netanyahu Bloc to Reach Majority, Polls Show

According to the polls, conducted by Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan, if an election were held today, the parties that make up the current ruling coalition – Netanyahu’s Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Shas and United Torah Judaism – would amass a total of just 54 seats, seven short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition, made up of National Unity, Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, Meretz, Ra’am and Labor, is projected to win 61 seats. Hadash-Ta’al would garner the remaining five seats.

27.03.2023 - 04:35 [ Haaretz ]

Israel‘s Night of Chaos: Growing Calls Inside Netanyahu‘s Coalition to Delay Judicial Overhaul After Defense Minister‘s Sacking, Massive Protests

Netanyahu ally and chairman of ultra-Orthodox party Shas, Arye Dery, reportedly expressed support for halting the process, as did ministers Ron Dermer and Yoav Kish of Likud who spoke to Netanyahu on the subject, according to a source in the party.

Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism party‘s Degel Hatorah faction expressed support for the „prime minister and his decisions,“ while far-right coalition party Otzma Yehudit called on Netanyahu not to stop the legislation.

13.03.2023 - 17:39 [ @IfNotNowOrg / Nitter ]

BREAKING: 13 Jewish IfNotNow activists were just attacked by security at the Israel Bonds Conference as they prayed Maariv to protest the visit by genocidal Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for a Palestinian town to be wiped out.

13.03.2023 - 17:32 [ i24news.tv ]

Israel‘s Smotrich met by hundreds of protesters in Washington, DC

Protesters descended on the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, where Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was giving a speech to an Israel Bonds convention on Sunday.

02.03.2023 - 09:31 [ Axios ]

U.S. says Israeli minister‘s call to wipe out Palestinian town is „disgusting“

What to watch: Smotrich is expected to visit the U.S. the second week of March for a meeting of the Israel Bonds organization.

Israeli officials said he hasn‘t asked for any meetings with the Biden administration.
Two U.S. officials told Axios that even if he asked for meetings with Biden officials, he likely wouldn‘t get them.

02.03.2023 - 09:27 [ CNN ]

US condemns Israel far right minister’s call for Palestinian town ‘to be erased’

Price issued a strong condemnation from the US State Department podium Wednesday, saying, “I want to be very clear about this. These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting.”

“And just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence,” he said at a State Department briefing.

Price also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and other senior Israeli officials to publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments.”

01.03.2023 - 15:12 [ Haaretz.com / Nitter ]

Following Sunday‘s deadly settler riot in the West Bank village, MK Zvika Fogel (from Ben-Gvir‘s Otzma Yehudit party), said he „looks favorably on the results“

01.03.2023 - 15:06 [ Haaretz ]

Palestinian ‚Village of Hawara Needs to Be Wiped Out‘: Israel‘s Far-right Finance Minister Justifies ‚Disproportionate‘ Response to Terrorism

Israel’s Finance Minister called for the destruction of a West Bank Palestinian village on Wednesday, days after it was attacked by a mob of settlers who torched dozens of homes and reportedly killed one resident.

“The village of Hawara needs to be wiped out. I think that the State of Israel needs to do that [and] not, God forbid, private individuals,” said Bezalel Smotrich, when asked why he had “liked” a tweet by deputy Samaria Regional Council head Davidi Ben Zion calling for Hawara to be “wiped out today.”

21.12.2022 - 02:24 [ Times of Israel ]

Ex-police chief says he recommends seeking plea deal in Netanyahu corruption trial

Roni Alsheich – who led police investigation into former premier – suggests AG seek plea bargain as ‘our democracy is not yet ready to prosecute a sitting PM’

21.12.2022 - 01:57 [ Haaretz ]

Israeli Far Right‘s Plan to Oversee Police Clears First Hurdle in Knesset

According to Itamar Ben-Gvir, „the correction to the law that we brought is a blessing for democracy. Only in police states does the police commissioner work on his own.“ He also accused the opposition of never having been democratic. „You are dark people, non-liberals who do not correspond with the democratic system of government,“ he added.

19.12.2022 - 19:22 [ Haaretz ]

American Jews Wonder: Is It Time to Declare Independence From Israel?

The painful truth for American Jews is that while they have tended to worship Israeli Jews, their “cousins” have, historically, returned this feeling with a combination of amusement and contempt.

19.12.2022 - 19:12 [ New York Times ]

The Ideal of Democracy in a Jewish State Is in Jeopardy

Mr. Netanyahu’s government, however, is a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security and even the idea of a Jewish homeland. For one, the government’s posture could make it militarily and politically impossible for a two-state solution to ever emerge. Rather than accept this outcome, the Biden administration should do everything it can to express its support for a society governed by equal rights and the rule of law in Israel, as it does in countries all over the world. That would be an act of friendship, consistent with the deep bond between the two nations.

03.12.2022 - 17:02 [ J Street / Nitter ]

This is an excellent conversation with our friends @ShibleyTelhami & @ChrisVanHollen. Thank you, Sen Van Hollen, for calling out Ben-Gvir and Smotrich‘s extremism and bigotry and highlighting the important work being done by progressive groups in Israel and the US to oppose them.

03.12.2022 - 02:18 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu’s Lust for Power Revealed in All Its Sickening Glory

To paraphrase Ben-Gurion: Every Hebrew mother should know that she has placed her children’s fate in the hands of a prime minister, other politicians and a school system that are unworthy of it. If there was ever a justification for a civil rebellion (not violent, but also not so polite and photogenic as the social protests of the summer of 2011), here it is – in all its sickening glory.

02.12.2022 - 07:15 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Koalitionsverhandlungen: Wird Israels Rechtsstaat ausgehöhlt?

Verhandelt wird nun, ob die Knesset künftig die Möglichkeit erhält, sich über solche Entscheidungen in einer erneuten Abstimmung hinwegsetzen zu können. Dann könnte das Parlament Gesetze beschließen, die den grundlegenden Gesetzen Israels widersprechen.

02.12.2022 - 07:08 [ ORF.at ]

Israel: Netanjahu kurz vor neuer Koalitionsbildung

Parteichef Besalel Smotrich nannte die Vereinbarung einen „historischen Schritt“ in Richtung einer Regierung, die das „Siedlungsvorhaben regeln und entwickeln“ werde. Netanjahu sprach von einer „rechtsnationalen Regierung, die sich um alle Israelis kümmern“ werde.

01.12.2022 - 12:47 [ Haaretz ]

Bad Blood: Netanyahu, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir All Spin Terror for Gains

The echoes of the explosions of the coordinated attacks in Jerusalem were still ringing, and the area had not yet been cleaned of the blood and broken glass. Politicians, seeing the promised land of power before their eyes, pounced on the opportunity they were given. Otzma Yehudit urged Likud members to stop with this “nonsense” of negotiating over forming a coalition (meaning: yield to all their demands). Religious Zionism repeated their demand that Benjamin Netanyahu convene the heads of all the relevant parties in a closed room and wrap things up. Needless to say, for the sake of security.

01.12.2022 - 12:14 [ allisrael.com ]

Will a parliamentary override clause for Supreme Court rulings balance power or harm democracy?

Israel’s right-wing majority considers the Supreme Court‘s authority “overreaching” – and the expected incoming coalition plans to pass legislation known as the “override clause” giving parliament the power to reverse rulings from the high court.

20.11.2022 - 17:56 [ Ynetnews.com ]

‚Override Law‘ would be ‘fatal blow’ to Israel’s democracy, legal experts warn

Members of the likely upcoming coalition government under Benjamin Netanyahu are said to be in favor of a proposal that would enable a 61-Knesset-member majority to overrule the Supreme Court and cancel its decisions. Netanyahu, who was initially reluctant to include the controversial override clause in coalition negotiations, agreed to do so following pressure from his allies in the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Religious Zionist parties.