Israel Update: Protests Pump the Brakes—for Now
Israel has slowed down, but it has not yet backed away from the brink.
Israel has slowed down, but it has not yet backed away from the brink.
Throngs protested in Jerusalem over government plans to radically change the judiciary and more.
The new government’s proposals have made the divisions in Israeli society worse.
Wednesday’s ruling disqualifying Aryeh Deri from his ministerial positions has pushed the country into serious political turmoil.
The proposed plan would change the balance of power between Israeli politicians and the legal system, and also could be a “get out of jail free” card for Netanyahu.
These riots weren’t about religious or even nationalistic fervor. They were a desperate expression of hopelessness and rage by Jerusalemites.
Netanyahu has long been the center of Israeli politics. But last week, Lapid finally changed the narrative.
Even before Shireen Abu Akleh’s blood had dried, her death was exploited.
The value of the life of a journalist doesn’t matter very much in a post-truth world. And so the politicians, pundits and activists lined up according to their usual and predictable positions, ready to make political, ideological and rhetorical gains off the death of a woman.
The question of which refugees Israel should admit has quickly evolved into a debate over the meaning of Zionism and the Jewish character of the state.
In mid-July, a majority of justices of Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s Council for Higher Education can continue its gender-segregated education programs for ultra-Orthodox students in publicly funded colleges and universities.