ISRAEL (IINO)
Mass protests against judicial reform enter 21st week
The passing of the new budget could grant some stability to Israel’s government. However, it also appeared to fuel the protesters’ views that Netanyahu appeals to his religious allies rather than address the wider economic woes of the broader society.
05-27-2023 22:21 – Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday for the relentless weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government’s plans to overhaul the legal system in the country.
The mass protests entered their 21st week. This week’s rallies come days after Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties passed a new two-year budget.
The main rally took place in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of flag-waving protesters.
The passing of the new budget could grant some stability to Israel’s government. However, it also appeared to fuel the protesters’ views that Netanyahu appeals to his religious allies rather than address the wider economic woes of the broader society. Organizers of grassroots protests bill them as a movement to save democracy. They say the government’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court would destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and compromise Israeli democracy.
[Ed.: Rubbish. The mouse that roared.]
06-16-2023 09:10 – Ehud Barak, as has been revealed this week, is the de facto leader of the protests against judicial reform. His main motivation has nothing to do with the Supreme Court and everything to do with his own personal ego war against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [Emphasis added]
1. Some years ago, Ehud Barak invited me to his home. He wanted to get to know me. We sat for about three hours talking about history and Talmud, philosophy and poetry, policy, and the army. Barak is highly impressive, with a broad perspective, the likes of which I have encountered in very few people.I told him that, in some ways, he had become the Shabtai Zvi of his camp. Barak was the Messiah who was designated as Yitzhak Rabin’s successor. He was destined to redeem his followers from Benjamin Netanyahu and resurrect the spirit of Oslo. And yet, it was Barak who coined the phrase that buried the hope of peace when he returned from Camp David and told the nation the truth: “There is no partner for peace” on the Palestinian side, despite the unprecedented concessions he offered them. It was an admission of the failure of the concept of “land for peace.” As far as many of his followers were concerned, this was an act of heresy that went against what for many years had been the raison d’être of his political camp. Barak’s confession was tantamount to the conversion to Islam of Shabtai Zvi who turned out to be a false Messiah. You too, I told him, have been marked as a false Messiah. He smiled faintly and agreed with me.
[Ed.:
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger’s rebranded unconventional website
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U.S. Fighter Jets Head to Middle East; Israel SLAMS Russia Over Iran Alliance [12:00] The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck
On today’s Watchman Newscast, host Erick Stakelbeck beaks down growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the Middle East. As the U.S. sends a squadron of F-22 fighter jets to the region to deter Russia, could things spiral out of control? Plus, Israeli leaders are expressing growing alarm over Russia’s military alliance with Iran. Is this a prelude to a coming prophetic showdown?
