On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities for the 28th week in a row to demonstrate against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned legislation to gut the powers of the country’s Supreme Court.
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment
On the eve of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s controversial visit to the United States, which several members of Congress say they will boycott, Israeli society is coming apart at the seams. The presidency in Israel is a purely symbolic post. Power resides with the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and his extremist cabinet, which comprises open racists and fascists. His government’s expansion of Israeli squatter-settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank has drawn a rebuke from President Joe Biden, who says he’s never seen such a far-right government in Israel in all his years in office (which is a lot of years).
Last Thursday, Israelis demonstrated in front of the US Embassy in Israel, demanding that the United States pressure Netanyahu to back off his plan to gut the country’s supreme court. They said they feared the change would harm US-Israeli relations.
On Saturday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Democratic Progressive Caucus, denounced Israel as a racist state. She clarified on Sunday that she only meant that the current Netanyahu government is racist, not that the idea of Israel is. I don’t think that remark will mollify the Israel lobbies, but the episode shows how alienated some corners of the American political scene have become from the horror show in Tel Aviv.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities for the 28th week in a row to demonstrate against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned legislation to gut the powers of the country’s Supreme Court. They also announced that they would devote the coming week to disruptions, including of the rails.
Recent Posts
Trump And His Counter-Revolutionaries Take Charge
November 27, 2024
Take Action NowThe ethnonationalists, oligarchs, tech bros, and national security bros who form Trump’s team are talking about a…
In The Lame Duck, Biden Barrels Towards World War 3
November 27, 2024
Take Action NowFrustration escalates for the the lame duck president.By Seymour Hersh There is a scene early on in Nathanael…
Of Course, Democrats Are Blaming The Left For The Election Loss
November 27, 2024
Take Action NowThis argument is particularly unconvincing this time around. And it doesn’t offer a realistic prescription for future…
Trump’s AG Pick Wanted To Deport Student Protestors
November 26, 2024
Take Action NowPam Bondi’s call for deporting students — regardless of their citizenship status — echoes comments Trump made in May.……