The Dream of Karabakh, about a woman’s attachment to her village, is rooted in personal memories that cannot be moved, unlike borders
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‘Historic’ strike: Country shutting down to protest judicial reform
No takeoffs from airport, local authorities and main labor union going on strike, and universities shutting doors are some of the newest anti-government plans.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The mass protest against the government’s planned judicial reforms leapt up several notches Monday as a slew of shutdowns were announced that should affect every citizen in the country.
Histadrut Labor Federation head Arnon Bar-David announced a “historic” strike at a press conference in the morning. This is “the right way,” he said, “to bring the country back to sanity,” as “employers and employees link hands together and shut down the State of Israel.”
Bar-David maintained that this was not a political matter, “not an issue of right and left,” but that matters have simply come to a head and “we can’t tear apart the nation anymore.”
The Israel Medical Association joined the call, saying that all public hospitals and community clinics would stop all but life-saving treatments and services.
The head of the workers’ committee at the Airports Authority immediately announced the partial shutdown of Ben-Gurion Airport by preventing all departures while allowing planes to land. As of this writing, the strike had yet to go into effect.
Crowds were already witnessed at various airline counters as passengers who probably heard the news went to get information,or possibly change their flights.
Local and regional government heads informed the press that they, too, would be joining the strike, even though Haim Bibas, head of the Federation of Local Authorities, is a stalwart of the ruling Likud party.
Bibas called for the reinstatement of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was just fired for backing a halt to the judicial reform.
“The rift in the nation and the tremendous chaos that Israel is in has reached the point of almost no return,” Bibas stated in support of the strikes.
If the local administrations shut down, all parents of young children will have to rearrange their schedules, as pre-school assistants who are paid by the municipalities and councils will not be able to work, and the pre-schools will be forced to close.
Students at the other end of the educational ladder will also find themselves with free time on their hands, as the heads of Israel’s research universities announced already Sunday evening that they would be stopping all studies in their institutions in protest.
Professor Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said, “There are moments in the life of a nation when there is no place for considerations and interests, but only the good of the state and the good of the people….
“We have chosen the dramatic step of suspending classes in all universities in the hope that… all our elected officials will sit down, talk and create an agreed-upon line of action. We have only one people, one country and one shared future.”
Many private colleges followed suit and said their doors would close as well.
The National Council of Students and Youth also called for high-schoolers not to attend classes, while making an exception for the special education track. In this case, the Education Ministry pushed back, saying all schools will remain open.
Private industry showed its support for the shutdown as well, with the Azrieli, Ofer and “Big” malls all announcing that their doors would close starting at noon on Monday, and the Fox chain saying it would go dark. Protest leaders among high-tech companies said they would shut the sector down, although the companies themselves made no such announcement.
Dov Amitai, chairman of the umbrella organization of businesses in Israel, warned that “the crisis is the greatest one since the Yom Kippur War.” He called for “all the party heads, from the opposition and coalition” to show responsibility, “stop this chaos now, stop the legislation and gather to negotiate until white smoke appears.”
The post ‘Historic’ strike: Country shutting down to protest judicial reform appeared first on World Israel News.
Ukraine’s fight for economic justice
Russian aggression is driving Ukrainians into poverty. But the war could also be an opportunity to reset the Ukrainian economy – if only people and politicians could agree how. The danger is that wartime ‘reforms’ could ease a permanent shift to a smaller state – with less regulation and protection for citizens.
Our speakers will help you unpack these issues and explain why support for Ukrainian society is more important than ever.
UNPRECEDENTED: Israel erupts in protest after Gallant firing announced
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets by midnight Sunday following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he was firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over his public opposition to the government’s planned judicial overhaul.
אחד הסרטונים המדהימים: pic.twitter.com/A5k2OsiCtP
— ינון מגל (@YinonMagal) March 26, 2023
The post UNPRECEDENTED: Israel erupts in protest after Gallant firing announced appeared first on World Israel News.
Ben-Gvir: Judicial reform pause means government is over
Ben-Gvir reportedly urged Netanyahu “not to surrender to [left-wing] terrorism” and said the prime minister should not give the demonstrators “a reward for violence.”
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
After hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in chaotic protests overnight Sunday and an unprecedented national labor strike on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to give a public statement announcing a pause to legislation aiming to reform Israel’s judicial system.
While such an announcement could provide relief from the mass protests and strikes that are currently paralyzing the country, Netanyahu’s concession could spell the end of his right-wing coalition.
During a meeting of coalition party heads on Monday morning, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit party, said that any pause in the judicial overhaul would lead to the collapse of the government.
Notably, shortly after Ben-Gvir’s remarks, Netanyahu postponed a speech in which he was likely going to say that the pending legislation would be delayed until after the Knesset’s Passover recess.
According to Channel 14 News, Ben-Gvir met with Netanyahu at 2 a.m. on Monday as protesters lit fires, fought with police, and blocked Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
Ben-Gvir reportedly urged Netanyahu “not to surrender to [left-wing] terrorism,” telling him not to give the demonstrators “a reward for violence.”
Other members of the coalition were said to be critical of Ben-Gvir, calling him “irresponsible.”
A senior coalition lawmaker told Channel 14 that “nobody wants the legislation postponed, “but “it’s clear that there’s no other choice right now.”
“Stopping the legislation would be a surrender to violence, anarchy, the reluctance and tyranny of the minority and would ruin the election results,” said the Religious Zionism party, headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in a statement.
“We were and remain adherents of dialogue, compromises and agreements, but not under threats of a coup …on Israeli democracy. We owe it to the majority of the people to make their voices heard and to continue this important historical correction.”
Religious Zionism, which ran on a united slate with Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Avi Maoz’s Noam parties, holds 14 seats in the Knesset.
Should the party leave the coalition, Netanyahu’s Likud party would lose its majority in the Knesset, likely triggering yet another round of national elections.
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Ofcom must crack down on the Conservative Party love-ins on GB News and TalkTV
Judicial reform protest gets personal as Netanyahu lawyer threatens to quit
Boaz Ben Zur, who is defending the prime minister in two of his corruption cases, says he’ll stop unless legislation is paused.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The nationwide protest against the government’s judicial reform attempt just got personal for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a top lawyer in his corruption trials threatened to quit if the legislation is not paused, Channel 12 reported Monday.
Boaz Ben Zur has been representing Netanyahu in the most serious case against him, Case 4000. In that case, he is accused of bribery in allegedly pushing for regulatory reforms that helped the joint owner of telecommunications provider Bezeq and Walla! News, Shaul Elovitch, make hundreds of millions of shekels, in exchange for more positive coverage in the Walla news site.
He is also one of Netanyahu’s lawyers in Case 2000, according to which the prime minister is facing charges of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly making a deal with the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot daily for better coverage in return for hamstringing a competitor paper, Israel Hayom.
Ben Tzur cannot unilaterally make the decision to step down from the cases he has been involved in for well over two years. The court has to give him permission to do so, which is not necessarily a given due to the delay this would entail in the continuation of the trials.
A different resignation took effect immediately on Sunday – that of Israel’s consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir. A member of the party headed by the Opposition’s Benny Gantz, he had been appointed to the important diplomatic position in October 2021, during the unity government of right- and left-wing parties and one Arab faction.
As a critic of the judicial reform package, he tweeted simply on Sunday, “I quit,” with an icon of the Israeli flag.
According to his attached letter, it was “time for me to take action,” believing that “this reform undermines the very foundation of our democratic system and threatens the rule of law in our country.” He would instead “join the fight for Israel’s future alongside fellow citizens, as we work together to build a better, more just and more equal Israel.”
Zamir had already been summoned to Israel last week after speaking against the reforms at a fundraising event in New York, making his resignation unsurprising.
The nationwide controversy over the reforms, which the government insists are necessary because an unelected judiciary has overreached in controlling the legislative process, has led to weeks-long, massive demonstrations across the country by its opponents.
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‘Stop the legislation immediately’ – Pres. Herzog urges overhaul pause after overnight protests
“Wake up now! This is not a political moment; This is a moment for leadership and responsibility,” Herzog said in a statement.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for a halt to pending legislation that would overhaul the judicial system on Monday morning, after a chaotic night filled with mass protests throughout the country.
“Tonight we saw some very difficult scenes. I’m turning to the prime minister, the government, and the members of the coalition: The emotions are difficult and painful. Deep anxiety is engulfing the people. The security, the economy, the society — everything is threatened. The eyes of all the people of Israel are turned to you,” Herzog wrote on his Twitter account.
“For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I am calling on you to stop the legislation immediately. I turn to all the party leaders in the Knesset, coalition, and opposition as one, put the citizens of the nation above all else, and behave responsibly and bravely without further delay.
“Wake up now! This is not a political moment; This is a moment for leadership and responsibility.”
Several weeks ago, Herzog presented a potential compromise plan which was rejected by the coalition parties.
The tensions regarding the judicial reform mark “one of the most difficult moments that the State of Israel has ever experienced,” he said in mid-March.
“We are in a historic crisis that threatens to destroy us from within.”
Herzog encouraged dialogue between the coalition and opposition parties regarding a compromise on the overhaul, but Opposition Leader Yair Lapid vehemently refused to engage in negotiations unless the legislation was paused.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to make a statement on Monday morning, during which he will likely call for a pause to the judicial reform until after the Knesset’s Passover recess.
Simultaneously on Monday morning, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved a fundamental piece of judicial reform legislation for its final readings in the Knesset plenum.
The bill, which would give coalition parties greater control over judicial appointments, has now been cleared for a final vote which would make it law.
The post ‘Stop the legislation immediately’ – Pres. Herzog urges overhaul pause after overnight protests appeared first on World Israel News.
Selected Articles: Video: Towards WHO Totalitarianism? Dr. Reiner Fuellmich with Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, James Roguski and Matthew Ehret
By , March 26, 2023
Dr. Reiner Fuellmich on International Crimes …
The post Selected Articles: Video: Towards WHO Totalitarianism? Dr. Reiner Fuellmich with Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, James Roguski and Matthew Ehret appeared first on Global Research.