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Far-right politician would be Israel’s next PM in proposed deal
Mon 31 May 2021
The far-right Israeli politician Naftali Bennett will be the country’s next prime minister under a proposed power-sharing deal intended to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the opposition has confirmed.
Yair Lapid said in a speech on Monday that his efforts to forge a coalition of ideologically opposed parties could lead to a new government within days, and with it, Netanyahu’s removal from office after 12 years in power.
“We can end this next week,” Lapid said. “In a week the state of Israel can be in a new era with a different prime minister.”
In his speech and for the first time, Lapid referred to Bennett, a far-right religious nationalist and strong advocate for the settler movement in the Palestinian territories, as the “intended prime minister”.
Israel opposition parties agree to form new unity government
11 minutes ago
Israeli opposition parties have reached an agreement to form a new government that would end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister.
Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, announced an eight-faction unity coalition had been formed.
Under a rotation arrangement, the head of the right-wing Yamina party, Naftali Bennett, would serve as prime minister first before handing over to Mr Lapid.
There still needs to be a parliamentary vote before the government is sworn in.
In a statement, Mr Lapid said he had informed President Reuven Rivlin of the agreement, adding: "I pledge that this government will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not.
Israel's Netanyahu poised to lose power to new government
20 minutes ago
Israel's parliament has begun debating the formation of a new government that would end 12 years of rule by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The prospective government - an unprecedented coalition of parties - has a razor-thin majority of one seat.
If it is approved in a vote on Sunday, it would bring to an end years of political paralysis in which three elections resulted in stalemate.
Right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett is poised to become PM.
In a power-sharing deal, Mr Bennett, who heads the Yamina party, will hold office until September 2023, when he will hand over to Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, for a further two years.
The Israeli parliament on Sunday voted to form a new coalition government.
The vote formally ends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year rule.
Naftali Bennett assumed the role of prime minister while Netanyahu became the opposition leader.
The Israeli parliament on Sunday voted to form a new coalition government, unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country for the last 12 years.
Naftali Bennett, a longtime Netanyahu ally turned adversary, assumed the role of prime minister and was sworn in Sunday, according to a report from the Associated Press. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will continue as leader of the Likud party and is now the opposition leader.
(Axios) Background: While still in school in 1999, Bennett and three friends decided to launch a startup — without having a plan beyond wanting to capitalize on the internet gold rush. The company would become Cyota, which began as a provider of payment solutions to banks but would later pivot to cybersecurity and anti-fraud solutions for financial institutions.
Bennett moved from Israel to New York to run the company, "and failed utterly for around three years" until Cytota switched products, he recently told the "Bootstrapped" podcast.
Cyota would go on to raise over $30 million (back when that was a decent amount of money for a tech startup), with Bennett briefly replaced as CEO before returning. In late 2005, the company was acquired by RSA Security for $145 million.
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Bennett later would be brought in briefly to lead Soluto, as what one Israeli tech source calls the "experienced, mature CEO." That company would later sell to private equity.
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The bottom line: Bennett should be a boon for Israel's tech startup scene, which saw VC-backed investment hit a seven-year high last year. He might also become a template for VC-backed founders in other countries who are seeking election to the highest of offices.
New Israeli Government, Same Israeli Apartheid
by Ariel Gold
June 14, 2021
(Common Dreams) After 12 years, Israel finally inaugurated a new prime minister. While being hailed by many as the opportunity for a fresh start, Naftali Bennett is at best a continuation of Netanyahu's policies and at worst an ideologue whose positions are to the right of Netanyahu's.
In 2013, as Middle East peace talks were set to resume after a five-year freeze, Bennett reportedly proclaimed to Israeli National Security Adviser Ya'akov Amidror, "I've killed lots of Arabs in my life—and there's no problem with that."
In 2014, Bennett, who had previously been the director of the Yesha Settlements Council, contradicted Netanyahu by asserting that all Jewish Israelis living in the West Bank, even those living in outposts that violate Israeli law, should remain under Israeli sovereignty, and called for more settlement construction. "This is the time to act," he said. "We must continue building in all corners of the Land of Israel, with determination and without being confused. We are building and we will not stop."
In 2016, as Israel's Minister of Education, Bennett called on Israeli Jews to "give our lives" to annex the West Bank. While this might seem relatively innocuous, it was not. Bennett's remarks invoked Kahanism, a Jewish supremacist ideology, based on the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane, that calls for violence and terrorism to be used to secure Israel as an ethno-nationalist state. In 1994, Israeli settler and Kahane follower Baruch Goldstein massacred Palestinians in the West Bank Ibrahimi mosque. In 1988, the Kach party was banned from running for the Israeli Knesset. In 2004, the US State Department labeled Kach a terrorist organization.
Sunday, June 13, 2021, right before he was inaugurated to replace Netanyahu as the prime minister of Israel, Bennett doubled down on his anti-Palestinian views proclaiming that his government would "strengthen settlements across the whole of the Land of Israel."
(Vox) Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, having held the job continuously since 2009. Now, finally, the reign of “King Bibi” — a moniker earned by his lengthy stay in office and authoritarian inclinations — has come to an end.
…Over the past 12 years, Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics. He’s not only successfully implemented a series of right-wing policies, such as entrenching Israel’s presence in the West Bank, but also consolidated a dangerous amount of power in his own hands. He is currently on trial for corruption charges stemming from, among other things, his attempt to buy off media outlets.
…Bennett will serve as prime minister first, for two years, with Lapid taking over from him after that. It’s a power split that partly reflects the internal divisions inside the coalition, which depends on votes from eight different parties on the right, center, and left. One of the eight is Ra’am, an Islamist party and the first Arab party ever to join an Israeli governing coalition.
Calling this arrangement unstable is an understatement.
Thousands of right-wing nationalists marched through parts of Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday, with some chanting racist slogans, as Israel was said to have warned Hamas, via Egyptian mediators, of a tough and immediate response to any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Police estimated turnout in Jerusalem at 5,000 participants and some 2,000 officers were deployed across the city for the event.
Footage posted to social media showed the right-wing marchers chanting “Death to Arabs” as well as “Shuafat is on fire,” referring to the East Jerusalem neighborhood, and “Jerusalem is ours.”
While voicing support for the decision to approve the march, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid immediately denounced the chants of “Death to Arabs.”
“The fact that there are extremist elements for whom the flag of Israel represents hate and racism is revolting and unforgivable,” Lapid tweeted. “It is incomprehensible that people can hold the Israeli flag in one hand and shout ‘Death to Arabs’ at the same time. This isn’t Judaism or Israeliness, and it is definitely not what our flag symbolizes. These people are a disgrace to the nation of Israel.”
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked Hamas armed compounds in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in response to the launching of incendiary ballons from the territory that caused fires in fields in southern Israel.
In a statement, the military said that it was "ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting in the face of continued terrorist acts emanating from Gaza".
The attacks, following an Israeli nationalist march in East Jerusalem that angered Palestinians, were the first launched by Israel and Gaza militants since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire ended 11 days of cross-border fighting last month.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
(The Conversation) It is not simply a result of individual grievances and political ambitions that Netanyahu can no longer appease or politically buy off his rivals. Nor is it just because they no longer believe any of his promises. As a scholar of Israeli politics, I think that it is also, even primarily, because Netanyahu has come to be seen as a danger to Israeli democracy itself, just as former President Donald Trump was in the United States.
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It wasn’t only his political survival and personal freedom, however, that motivated Netanyahu. He seems to sincerely believe that Israel will be endangered without his leadership. His long tenure in power apparently convinced him that only he can steer the ship of state, especially given the treacherous waters it must navigate.
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Like other longtime leaders, Netanyahu came to equate his own personal and political interests with those of Israel. What was good for him was good for Israel; what harmed him, harmed Israel. Netanyahu also convinced his supporters of this equation, just as many of his critics became convinced that the opposite was true.
Thus, Netanyahu managed to divide Israelis into two antagonistic camps: pro-Netanyahu versus anti-Netanyahu. This division replaced the traditional left-right ideological divide that had dominated Israeli politics for decades – and which is why the new government spans the ideological spectrum.
Security officials believe Iranian President-elect Ebrahaim Raisi will adopt Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hardline views on foreign and nuclear policy, and assess that Israel must once again ready plans to potentially attack the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, Israeli television reported Saturday.
Channel 12 said Raisi backs a return to the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, and the estimate in Israel is that an agreement with the US to restore the accord won’t be signed until August, when he takes office. In the meantime, however, Iran is expected to build up its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“There will be no choice [now] but to go back and prepare attack plans for Iran’s nuclear program. This will require budgets and the reallocation of resources,” an unnamed senior Israeli source was quoted as saying.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted Saturday evening: “Iran’s new president, known as the Butcher of Tehran, is an extremist responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians. He is committed to the regime’s nuclear ambitions and to its campaign of global terror.”
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
An Israeli Knesset member has called for the killing of couples involved in mixed marriages during a speech in parliament.
Yitzhak Pindrus is a member of the United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox party that believes in a homogenous Jewish state and society.
He called for the murder of "people who contribute to miscegenation", invoking a Biblical story about the murder of a Jewish man and non-Jewish woman while they were making love by lancing a spear through their engaged sexual organs.
He made his comments on Monday while addressing - and looking at - Mansour Abbas, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who is a deputy minister in Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition and the head of the Islamist Raam party.
David Sheen, an Israeli journalist, who wrote about Pindrus's remarks on Twitter and shared his speech, said: "Like most eliminationist lawmakers, Yitzhak Pindrus doesn’t have a Twitter account, but apparently he has a private account, because he immediately noted that his incitement to genocide all Israelis 'who contribute to miscegenation' was reported on that."
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
(Axios) Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday responded to an interview in which Donald Trump accused him of disloyalty, saying Israel's alliance with the U.S. meant "it was important for me to congratulate the incoming president."
What they're saying: In an interview for my book “Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East," Trump fumed over a video Netanyahu sent congratulating Biden for his victory. "I haven't spoken to him since," Trump said. "F**k him."
In a statement Friday, Netanyahu said:
“I highly appreciate President Trump’s big contribution to Israel and its security. I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S. and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming President."
Why it matters: Now opposition leader, Netanyahu is waging a continuous campaign to win back the prime minister's office while on trial for corruption.
(Mother Jones) Few issues have united the Western world more quickly than Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last month. In response to his brutal war, the United States and its allies have shuttled weapons and aid to Ukraine and slapped severe sanctions on Russia.
These moves have received broad support internationally, but there have been a number of prominent outliers. India, which has close ties to Russia dating back to the Cold War, has been reluctant to criticize Putin, and China, which only weeks ago promised a “no limits” partnership with Russia, has played a crucial role in furthering Putin’s disinformation war. Then there is Israel, which has opted for a cautious approach that aims to satisfy both the United States and Russia. That careful balance has led to some awkward moments.
Shortly after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last month, Israel did not support a US-led United Nations resolution condemning Russia. The decision reportedly annoyed the United States to the extent that US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield passed along a message to her Israeli counterpart “stressing the Biden administration’s disappointment,” Axios reported.
Israel has a deal with Putin that allows it to strike Iranian targets in Syria. (Russia, which backs embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, is a significant power broker in the region.) “The US is our very important ally, but since the civil war in Syria we have had to deal with the Russians because they’ve become our neighbors,” Orna Mizrahi, a former Israeli national security official recently told the New Yorker. “It is so important for us that Russia turns a blind eye to what we have been doing in Syria, acting against the transfer of weapons, the entrenchment of the Iranians.”
Further extract:
Adding to Israel’s role is a symbolic element other countries do not share. Putin has framed his invasion as a chance to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, a bizarre claim that runs contrary to Russia’s own support for far-right groups and the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish. He too invoked the Holocaust in a speech this week to the Israeli Knesset, using the phrase “final solution” to describe Russia’s actions toward Ukrainians. His comparison sparked criticism from some Israelis.
(Al Jazeera) In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine, Shireen Abu Akleh, targeting her with live fire early this morning, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, while conducting her journalistic duty, clearly wearing a press jacket that identifies her a journalist, covering the Israeli occupation forces storming of Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty. Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.
The Israeli authorities are also responsible for the targeting of Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samudi, who was also shot in the back while covering the same event, and he is currently undergoing treatment.
Al Jazeera extends its sincere condolences to the family of Shireen in Palestine, and to her extended family around the world, and we pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice.
The Israeli government swiftly denied responsibility for killing Abu Akleh and wounding al-Samudi, claiming that they may have been shot by "Palestinian gunmen."
"There is a considerable chance that armed Palestinians, who fired wildly, were the ones who brought about the journalist's unfortunate death," said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
But al-Samudi, speaking to the Associated Press following the incident, dismissed the Israeli government's narrative as a "complete lie."
"He said they were all wearing protective gear that clearly marked them as reporters, and they passed by Israeli troops so the soldiers would know that they were there," AP reported. "He said a first shot missed them, then a second struck him, and a third killed Abu Akleh. He said there were no militants or other civilians in the area—only the reporters and the army."
An outpouring of grief and tributes followed news of Abu Akleh's killing.
The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh - How Should America Respond?
by Phyllis Bennis and Richard Falk
May 23, 2022
Extract:
(Common Dreams) (Abu Akleh’s) killing is part of a longer pattern of Israeli violence and collective punishment — not just against journalists but against all Palestinians — committed with impunity and rationalized by trumped up “security” concerns.
The depth of this abuse was again made shockingly visible after the killing itself, when Israeli police attacked the funeral procession carrying Shireen’s body to the church. They threw Palestinian flags to the ground and violently beat mourners — including the pallbearers, who nearly dropped the casket.
The killing of Shireen and the assault on the funeral procession demonstrated once again the structural nature of Israeli racism and violence against Palestinians. As Amnesty International describes it, Israel’s “regular violations of Palestinians’ rights are not accidental repetitions of offenses, but part of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination.”
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Credible information, including from Israel’s leading human rights organization and five respected journalists standing with Shireen Abu Akleh when she was killed, indicates she was shot in cold blood. If that isn’t sufficient, the State Department should propose an independent, UN-based fact-finding team to prepare a report.
Militarism is on the rise, both in the U.S. and around the world. Maybe the brutal killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a U.S. citizen as well as a proud Palestinian born in Jerusalem — and the police attack on mourners grieving her death — will provide an impetus toward rethinking Washington’s unconditional support of Israeli lawlessness.
Israel’s coalition on brink of collapse after losing settler law vote
Tue 7 Jun 2022
Israel’s coalition government is teetering on the brink of collapse after a dramatic Knesset showdown over legislation to extend legal protections for settlers in the occupied West Bank.
In what was variously described by Israeli media as “one of the most surreal votes in Israeli history” and “political suicide”, the first reading of a bill renewing civilian legal rights for Jewish settlers in the West Bank failed to pass on Monday night.
Members of the Knesset had to weigh up their positions on both the bill, and whether it was more important to strengthen or weaken the ideologically diverse coalition, which recently lost its razor-thin majority.
Elements of the government opposed to the bill were cajoled into voting in favour over fears that failing to pass it could help bring down the coalition that ousted long-time prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, just under a year ago.
Meanwhile rightwing opposition members voted against, even though they support settlement building, meaning the bill failed by a 58-52 margin.
Israel Heads for 5th Election in 3 Years After Government Collapses, Officials Say
Source: New York Times
JERUSALEM — Israel’s governing coalition will vote to dissolve Parliament within the next week, bringing down the government and sending the country to a fifth election in three years, the prime minister’s office and two coalition officials said on Monday.
The decision throws a political lifeline to Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister who left office last June upon the formation of the current government, and whose party is currently leading in the polls.
It follows weeks of paralysis caused by the defection of two right-wing government lawmakers and frequent rebellions by three others, removing the coalition’s majority in Parliament and making it hard to govern.
Expected to be held in the fall, the election will be Israel’s fifth since April 2019. It comes at an already tense time for the country, after a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis put pressure on the government, and amid an escalation in a shadow war between Israel and Iran.
UN Human Rights Office Confirms: Israeli Forces Killed Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Jake Johnson
June 24, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Drrams) Confirming the findings of several major journalistic investigations, the United Nations Human Rights Office said Friday that Israeli forces fired the shots that killed beloved Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and wounded her colleague last month as they covered a raid in the occupied West Bank.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that it is "deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation" in the six weeks since Abu Akleh's killing, which sparked international outrage.
"We at the U.N. Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident," said Shamdasani. "All information we have gathered—including official information from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney general—is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli Security Forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities."
"We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists," Shamdasani added.
The U.N. body's findings came days after the New York Times published its investigation showing that the "bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh was fired from the approximate location of the Israeli military convoy, most likely by a soldier from an elite unit."
