ISRAEL (IINO)
It’s not about democracy Caroline Glick
The left isn’t worried about democracy. It doesn’t like democracy. It likes its oligarchy.
(February 10, 2023 / JNS) What’s happening in Israel is not what it seems. The left, in all its component parts, is not fighting against an effort by the government and the Knesset to destroy Israel’s democracy.
We know this for three reasons.
First, the leaders of the fight against judicial reform, who claim that if Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial reform package now making its way through the legislative process in the Knesset passes, Israeli democracy will die, know that this isn’t true.
In a past address to the Kohelet Forum, opposition leader Yair Lapid set out a position on judicial activism completely aligned with Levin’s package. Indeed, Lapid’s remarks laid the foundations of the current reform.
In that speech, Lapid said, “I have opposed, and I still oppose, judicial activism of the sort introduced by [former Supreme Court President and the father of Israel’s judicial revolution] Justice Aharon Barak. I don’t think it is right that everything is justiciable. I don’t think it is right for the Supreme Court to change fundamental things in accordance with what it refers to as the judgment of ‘the reasonable person.’ That’s an amorphous and completely subjective definition that the Knesset never introduced to the legal code. It’s not right in my mind that the separation of powers, the sacrosanct foundation of the democratic method, should be breached by one branch of government placing itself above the others.”
US meddles in Israeli gov’t affairs: Warns against giving minister powers over Judea, Samaria
February 9, 2023 – Israeli official slams the U.S. for interfering in internal government policies.
The Biden administration has warned the Israeli government that the transfer of authority over Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would be seen as a step towards annexation, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported Thursday evening, citing U.S. officials.
Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf held talks with National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other senior officials in Jerusalem last week in a bid to prevent a transfer of powers to Smotrich and in doing so, curb further escalation in the region, the report said.
Under the current coalition agreement, Smotrich is slated to receive control over military units responsible for civilian policy in Judea and Samaria.
[Ed.: That’s nice!]
Civilians Told to Bring Firearms to Synagogue on Shabbat
February 10, 2023 – Rabbi Rami Brachyahu said the measure was necessary following the Jan. 27 Palestinian terrorist attack that killed seven people at a synagogue in Jerusalem.
The chief rabbi of the Israel Police penned an open letter on Tuesday to rabbis throughout Israel urging them to advise congregants to carry firearms on Shabbat, Arutz 7 reported.
In his letter, Rabbi Rami Brachyahu said the measure was necessary following the Jan. 27 Palestinian terrorist attack that killed seven people at a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood.
History has proven that religious neighborhoods and synagogues were a target for terrorists, wrote Brachyahu, according to the report.
Jerusalem terror: 6-year-old, man in 20s dead; more critically wounded By World Israel News Staff
February 10, 2023 – Terrorist runs down Israelis waiting at a bus stop in Ramot neighborhood leaving child dead, five injured. A man in his 20s succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
A young boy was murdered and five others were injured – three critically, among them a child, and two moderately – in a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem Friday afternoon. One of the victims died in hospital shortly afterwards.
The attack occurred at 1:27 p.m. at a bus stop on Golda Meir Boulevard near the Nebi Samuel National Park (Tomb of Samuel) adjacent to the Ramot neighborhood of the capital, when a terrorist drove his car into a group of pedestrians.
Emergency first responders from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah were dispatched to the scene to treat the injured and evacuate them to Jerusalem hospitals.
According to a statement from MDA, two children were critically injured in the attack, including a six-year-old boy who later succumbed to his injuries.
Two other victims are listed in serious condition, and two more in moderate condition.
Outrage in Israel Explained [23:43] by Avi Below
If you want to understand the context for the massive outrage from the political left to the proposed judicial reform in Israel, then you must watch this video. As always, this is information that the establishment media is not telling us.
In this video you will also understand how the Gaza disengagement plan of 2005 plays a huge role in exposing the “democracy” that Israel’s political left’s wants to preserve.
[Ed.: Excellent!]
Fruit of a Poison Court: Justice Hayut Ignores Amiram Ben-Uliel’s Claim his Confession Was Extracted Using Torture By David Israel
16 Shevat 5783 – February 7, 2023 – Supreme Court President Esther Hayut on Tuesday morning rejected Amiram Ben-Uliel’s request to hold another hearing in an expanded panel in his case, on the grounds that his confession had been squeezed from him by the Shin Bet with the use of torture. He will continue to serve three life sentences plus 17 years for the murder of the Dawabsheh family on July 31, 2015.
The district court threw out two of Ben-Uliel’s confessions because they were given under torture, but accepted a third confession which served as a key piece of evidence against him in his trial.
On September 1, 2022, Supreme Court Justices Yitzhak Amit, Yosef Elron, and Shaul Shohat unanimously rejected Ben-Uliel’s claim that he was interrogated under torture by the Shin Bet, and therefore the confessions extracted from him and the subsequent reconstruction he performed for the police under the threat of more torture were illegal and should have been inadmissible.
Back in September, Otzma Yehudit Chairman MK Itamar Ben Gvir, who was later appointed National security Minister, attacked the ruling, saying, “Today there is no dispute that Uliel’s confession was given after he was interrogated under torture and this is a case of abject injustice. The laws of the State of Israel require the rejection of the confession, but unfortunately, the Supreme Court justices ignored this or did not give any real weight to this conduct. The Supreme Court ruled that he was tortured and instead of setting him free and issuing a logical ruling, the court sent him to three life sentences. It’s a black day for democracy.”
Lack of Israeli Control = Continued Lawlessness by AFSI Staff
February 9, 2023 – The Palestinian Authority is paving an unauthorized road through a nature reserve south of Jerusalem in violation of the Oslo Accords. Local Jewish leaders warn the move is a preliminary step towards the establishment of an illegal city to cut off a large portion of Judea from the rest of Israel.
Gush Etzion Regional Council chief Shlomo Ne’eman, in whose district the illegal road is being paved, warned that the Palestinian Authority’s blatant violation of the Oslo Accords highlights the lack of Israeli control over the area. “We see the establishment of an Arab town in every way shape or form, with infrastructure, water sources, roads, pouring of concrete, trucks, everything.”
As the clock continues to tick, lawlessness prevails. Time is of the essence and Israel must implement procedures to take back control of its land NOW.
Nothing Can Stop What’s Coming by AFSI Staff
February 9, 2023 – After weeks of angry demonstrations every Saturday night and threats of strikes against the “fascistic” legislation to reform the Judicial Selection Committee, on Tuesday, MK Simcha Rothman, Chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, published his bill, titled, Basic Law: The Judiciary (Amendment No. 3, Strengthening the Separation of Branches of Government).
Here’s a glance at portions of the bill scheduled to be submitted to the plenum for the first reading next Monday:
Amendment to clause 4 of Basic Law: The Judiciary. In clause 4 Subsection (B) is replaced by the following:
The committee will have nine members, who will be:
(a) The President of the Supreme Court, as well as two retired judges to be appointed by the Justice Minister, with the approval of the Supreme Court President
(b) The Justice Minister and two other ministers are chosen by the government
(c) Three Knesset Members including the Chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and two MKs, one from the coalition and one from the opposition, as will be determined by the law
The Justice Minister will chair the committee.
Rothman also snuck in a clause that has nothing to do with the protocol of appointing judges but is significantly more important than the majority of the bill.
Judicial Review Regarding the validity of a Basic Law:
15a. Whoever has judicial authority according to law, including the Supreme Court, is not required, directly or indirectly, to rule about the validity of a Basic Law and there will not be any validity to a ruling made in the aforementioned matter. It means that should the Knesset decide to upgrade legislation to the level of a Basic Law, the court does not have the power to overrule, revoke, annul, or cancel it.
It’s clear that judicial reforms are well underway to becoming a reality and nothing can stop what is coming. It’s all good for Israel.
‘Ticking bomb’: Palestinians sexually harass Israeli girls on public buses By David Isaac, JNS
February 9, 2023 – Zivit Nahum, whose experiences led her to flee from her home in Ariel, collected the stories of 120 women and girls who had been harassed on buses in Samaria.
Many Jews in Samaria are afraid to take the bus. Arab workers, who are not Israeli citizens, have effectively taken them over. Jewish residents find themselves outnumbered 50-to-1.
The situation is especially dire for young women, who are subject to sexual assault. Hundreds of cases have been documented of the harassment of girls as young as 11. Despite a growing clamor from parents for action, little has been done.
Yigal Brand, director general of World Betar, a Zionist youth movement, lives in Havot Yair (aka the Yair Farm) in Samaria. He wrote an open letter on Jan. 18 to Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who is responsible for civil administration in Judea and Samaria, and Miri Regev, the minister of transport and road safety.
“Thousands of workers every day use these bus lines (subsidized by the state for its citizens!!!!) that travel from central cities to Samaria,” Brand wrote.
He added that young soldiers find themselves alone on buses surrounded by Arabs and the situation can descend into bullying and harassment and could lead to a loss of life. He called on the ministers “to treat this ticking bomb seriously.”
[Ed.: “They MUST go!!”]
THIS RARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY FROM OVER 1,600 YEARS AGO WILL LEAVE YOU IN AWE by Leah Rosenberg
February 8, 2023 – Another archaeological discovery from the City of David in Jerusalem. It is remarkable how much history has been uncovered!
“A unique bead made from pure gold and dated to at least 1,600 years ago was uncovered at the sifting project at the Archaeological Experience in the Emek Tzurim National Park. The bead was found in dirt removed from a grandiose Roman structure discovered in the Pilgrimage Road Excavation. It was created using a unique technique that required delicate workmanship to affix tens of tiny balls together in the shape of a ring in order to create one small bead.
Hallel Feidman, age 18, from Bnei Ayish, is the volunteer who found the gold bead. She is a National Service volunteer who is working at the sifting project. “I poured the pail onto the sieve and began to wash the material that was brought from the excavations in the City of David, ” Feidman says as she describes the moment she made the discovery. “And then I saw something shiny in the corner of the sieve, different, that I don’t normally see. I immediately approached the archaeologist and he confirmed that I found a gold bead. Everyone here was very excited. ”
WATCH: IDF Soldiers Pray Immediately After Landing in Turkey to Save Lives
The IDF isn’t only one of the most moral armies in the world, it’s also the most inspiring.
It’s no secret that the IDF is one of the most moral and principled armies in the world.
But they are also one of the most inspiring.
As a delegation of IDF soldiers prepared to assist in rescue efforts in Turkey after a devastating earthquake, Israel’s warriors prayed.
As usual, the IDF soldiers make us proud to have them defend the Jewish state!
Upon arrival to Turkey, the first thing the IDF delegation did, while waiting for the order to move into the crisis zone, was to pray. My kind of Jewish army.
Get instant alerts on my Telegram channel here:https://t.co/82dxW6GDVp pic.twitter.com/7xbgXmi5cT
— Documenting Israel (@israelmuse) February 7, 2023
Israel Hit by 3 Earthquakes within 24 Hours; Death Toll Nears 20,000 in Turkey, Syria
The temblors follow devastating earthquakes that have killed more than 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
By JNS.org – Two earthquakes shook Israel on Wednesday evening, measuring 3.3 and 3.9 on the Richter scale, respectively. The first was in central Israel and the second was in Lebanon but felt across the Golan Heights.
The temblors followed a 3.5 magnitude quake overnight Tuesday centered 15 kilometers (9 miles) southeast of Ariel, which was felt in Jerusalem and surrounding areas.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage, aside from limited cracks in the walls of residential apartments.
The three quakes, occurring within a 24-hour span, come on the backdrop of the devastating earthquakes that have killed nearly 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Israel’s 2023 key national security challenge (may apply to additional Western democracies) by Yoram Ettinger
February 9th, 2023 – *Israel’s primary national security challenge is the reinforcement of education on the 4,000-year-old Jewish/Zionist roots in the Land of Israel, through the bolstering of the Jewish/Zionist identity (self-determination), vision (the reestablishment of the Jewish State in its Homeland) and destiny (the Jewish Ingathering/Aliyah to the Land of Israel).
*These core values are currently threatened by a cosmopolitan and post-Zionist worldview – in addition to the anti-Zionist worldview, that is dedicated to Israel’s physical destruction – which aims to play-down, misrepresent and replace Jewish/Zionist roots and values with multicultural and universal values and institutions.
*Post-Zionism considers Jewish/Zionist identity, vision and destiny as a major obstacle on the way of advancing its top goal: being embraced by the international community.
*This post-Zionist worldview, also, reflects battle fatigue. It refuses to accept the reality of Zionism as a multi-generational uphill marathon-like mission; deluding itself that Zionism is a sprint-like undertaking.
Nisan — Israel Divided: Can It Stand? By Mordechai Nisan
Monday, 06 February 2023 11:19 AM EST – Like most things about Jews, their politics in Israel are also unusual, different, and idiosyncratic. While much of the modern appurtenances of democracy apply to the political conduct of public affairs — human rights, free elections, with a robust party system — there is a noticeable streak of anti-democratic impulses in the body politic.
After Devastating Earthquakes, Israel to Send Aid to Turkey and Syria
Feb 6, 2023 – Search and rescue teams along with medical assistance are being readied following a request by Turkish authorities. Israel has also agreed to send aid to Syria.
By World Israel News
Israel is preparing aid for Turkey following the massive earthquake that struck the country overnight Sunday, following requests for help from Ankara, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
“At the request of the Turkish government, I have instructed all authorities to make immediate preparations to provide medical, and search-and-rescue assistance,” he announced. “The foreign and defense ministers have already been in contact with their counterparts and we will – in the coming hours – agree on the dispatching of a delegation as soon as possible.”
STOP: Herzog Says Slow Down. Levin: Not For a Minute by AFSI Staff
February 6, 2023 – Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday shrugged off calls to slow the advance of his long overdue legal overhaul proposals, even as President Isaac Herzog joined for the first time those saying legislation should be halted in order to allow negotiations for a broadly agreed-upon reform.
Speaking to Channel 13, Levin said the legislation would not be halted “even for a minute.” After Levin’s interview aired, Herzog reiterated his calls to calm public discourse around the plans. “Stop the whole process for a moment, take a deep breath, allow dialogue to take place, because there is a huge majority of the nation that wants dialogue.” He added: “When I see people are threatening to murder the prime minister… it’s a terrible thing that needs to be eliminated and the stain removed.”
For a fifth straight weekend Israelis turned out by the thousands to protest the proposed judicial reforms. These are left wingers who now find themselves in the minority in the Jewish population of Israel and are up in arms about losing control. [I.E. The Democrats! – Emphasis added] People who have a mature and factual understanding of the urgent need for these legal reforms understand that these moves will restore a system that was undermined chiefly by Aharon Barak who hid his changes to the courts powers in lengthy decisions and in rulings delivered when many people were on recess.
[Ed.: “Need for legal reforms” is putting it politely! For decades, we’ve needed to free ourselves from a totalitarian oligarchy ruling over IINO, while we tried to deceive ourselves and the world by saying that we are “the only Democracy in the Middle East.” Yes, just under half of our people are devildemocommiecrats, like in the US. A lemming like life form appearing in both parts of the world. Here is how you say Democrats in Hebrew:
Russia asks Israel to send aid to Syria after devastating earthquake By World Israel News Staff
February 6, 2023 – Israel to provide support for earthquake victims in Syria, says Netanyahu, despite the two countries being in a state of war.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel has received a request to provide Syria with humanitarian aid, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Monday afternoon, after a massive earthquake devastated southern Turkey and northwestern Syria.
The request reportedly was made by Russia on Syria’s behalf.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the Israeli premier said that Israel will be sending rescue workers and emergency medical responders to Turkey to offer assistance in areas hit by the earthquake.
“There has been a very severe earthquake in Turkey – which was also felt in other areas – in the past day. In accordance with the request of the Turkish government, I have directed the dispatch of search and rescue, and medical teams.”
“This is what we do around the world and this is what we do in areas close to us.”
[Ed.: What chutzpah! Aid for two hostile enemies? Putin should send his own aid! But Israel will send rescue teams anyway…]
2 major earthquakes kill over 2,300 in Syria and Turkey, tremors felt in Israel By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
February 6, 2023 – Most powerful earthquake in Turkey since 1999 sparks building collapses, with thousands wounded; second massive earthquake follows hours later.
A strong earthquake centered in southern Turkey shook multiple countries in the region, including Israel, at around 4 a.m. Monday morning, and left at least 1,500 people dead in Turkey and Syria. The death toll continues to rise.
The quake’s epicenter was recorded some 50 miles away from Gaziantep, near Turkey’s border with Syria. Registering as a 7.8 on the Richter scale, it was the most powerful earthquake to shake the country since 1999.
International media reported that residential buildings had collapsed in both Syria and Turkey, killing some 500 as of Monday morning, with at least 2,000 people wounded and many more trapped under the rubble.
Ultimatum: Zelensky meeting with Israel’s top diplomat canceled if demands not met By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
February 6, 2023 – Ukraine threatens to cancel diplomatic meeting with Zelensky unless Jerusalem forks over a half-billion dollars to Kyiv and issues formal condemnation of Russia.
Ahead of a long-awaited visit by Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have reportedly prepared a list of demands for Jerusalem, including a $500 million loan and that Israel publicly condemn Russia.
A Ukrainian official told Hebrew-language outlet Walla News that if Jerusalem refuses Ukraine’s demands, Cohen will not be allowed to meet with President Volodomyr Zelensky.
[Ed.: Oh-oh! We’re in trouble now! The title should have read: ‘Jewish Nazi Threatens Jerusalem’…]
