Samson pulling down the pillars
“There are those captains who swear an oath to go down with the ship. In Israel today, it seems that the captain, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu, indicted for three felonies, beleaguered by criticism from nearly every avenue, rating dropping like an anchor, is himself sinking and seems intent on bringing the ship down with him,” said one observer.
“When Samson brought down the palace on his enemies he wasn’t planning on destroying the entire country, including his own people,” said the observer. “And he was blinded. Delilah had cut off his hair. He was a prisoner in Gaza and brought up to the palace to entertain the thousands of Philistines who had gathered there to watch him made a spectacle of.
“Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. 31 His brothers and all his family went down and brought him back. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel for twenty years (Judges 16:23-31).'"
The observer opined that Netanyahu is no Samson. “He is beleaguered but the Israelis are not the Philistines. The palace is his own.”
Judicial Reforms
The Judicial Reforms in Israel that are still in play. The negotiators met again on Tuesday, April 18th, but so far have reached no conclusions. Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet reported that the atmosphere was tense and voices were raised. The negotiations are to continue next week. Opposition leader Yair Lapid still expresses doubt that Netanyahu is serious about halting the reforms.
Israel has seen demonstrations for 15 weeks in a row against the Judicial Reforms. More and even larger and more concerning demonstrations are in the works, according to demonstration leaders.
Some of those reforms would allow politicians to appoint judges and even control the committees who selected the judges. “Israel does not have the checks and balances the USA has,” said former High Court President Aharon Barak in a recent TV interview. “There is as yet no constitution, no House and Senate only the Knesset, and no separation of federal and state judges. All we have is the courts.”
Gershon, an electrician, slim, athletic, head shaved bald, very intelligent as electricians have to be if they want to survive in that profession, came to look at a problem with the Shabbat clock, built into the electric panel, that was supposed to turn off the electricity on Shabbat evening and on in the morning, for those who didn’t use electricity on Shabbat. The clock had stopped working.
Gershon was asked if he was for the Judicial Reforms or against. “Against,” he said. Was he going to the demonstrations. “I don’t have time,” he answered. “I’m trying to make a living supporting four children. I frequently work Saturday nights fixing clients electrical emergencies.”
What did he think would happen with the reforms? “I don’t care as long as there’s a change of leadership.” When he was told that Netanyahu’s trial had resumed after a six-week pause. “Maybe Bibi will get convicted?” he was asked.
Gershon made a face full of impatience. “He probably won’t but he has to go. He and his buddies. Deri and the others. One more crooked than the next.”
Judicial Questions in the USA
“Still, perhaps there is some cause for judicial reform, said one pundit, providing more oversight. Especially with what’s going on in the United States.” He recounted that recently, according to media reports, some judges in the US supreme court were also under scrutiny. “Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas apparently is cozy with Harlan Crow, a right-wing billionaire. Thomas and his wife have been taking annual expensive vacations over the last two decades on Crow’s yacht.
“Crow also bought the home where Thomas was raised and where his mother still lives, and doesn’t pay rent, as well as a few other properties on the block. Thomas was paid for the home and Crow then spent tens of thousands of dollars renovating the place. None of the payments or renovations were declared by Thomas. Federal law appears to require any real estate deal to be reported on financial disclosure forms.”
For Jews, said the pundit, the problem with Crow. According to reports he has an extensive collection of World War Two memorabilia in his basement, including a large area dedicated to Nazi uniforms weapons and paraphernalia.” The Huffington Post reported that Crow has not tried to hide his Nazi cache.
According to news reports, Thomas also received payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a bankrupt company. The implication was that Thomas may be influenced by friends to make decisions they agree with and vote against those to which they disagree. “If the reports are accurate, it stinks,” said Utah’s GOP senator Mitt Romney.
Some US politicians think nothing of the gifts. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) “It happens all the time,” said of the conservative justice and his ties to a billionaire donor. “Judges are allowed to have friends.”
“All the more reason we have to make certain our judges here in Israel have no stink about them,” said the pundit.
Abortion
There’s also the abortion issue. Israel has liberal abortion laws. According to the Israel government website, a woman can apply for an abortion in the following cases. “You're under 18 or over 40. If you're under 18, you don't need your parents consent
- the pregnancy is a result of unlawful sexual intercourse, for example, rape or incest (as defined by criminal law)
- the pregnancy could endanger your life or cause you physical or psychological harm
- you're not married or you got pregnant outside of marriage
- the fetus may have a physical or mental defect
There are also appeals if the woman doesn’t meet the above criteria. In most of those cases a medical panel decides if the request for abortion is justified. Judges are not involved in the process.
America is different.
According to the Huffington Post, “For decades, nominees to the Supreme Court have had to answer questions about Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that, until now, guaranteed the right to abortion in the U.S.
“That includes the six conservative justices who have now overturned Roe ending the right to an abortion. As nominees, those justices consistently avoided direct statements about Roe, including whether they'd vote to overturn it. Instead, they often commented on the importance of precedent and constitutional guarantees to privacy.”
There has been talk of imposing an ethics committee on the Supreme Court to oversee their actions. These moves all point to why Judicial Reforms needed to be handled carefully in Israel. And perhaps even in the
USA.
Exiled?
A friend said over coffee the other morning that perhaps there are boys so alike they are like brothers from different fathers. Like the sons of Trump and Yair, the son of Netanyahu. The younger Netanyahu has been been out of Israel since the end of March.
Yair Netanyahu is an active twitter inciter spewing incendiary post that infuriated those in the opposition. Lately he has been quiet. Pundits speculate that Netanyahu Jr. was shushed and then shuffled into exile while the negotiations over the Judicial Reforms go on.
Recently, Netanyahu Jr. was shown in an Israel TV report lounging near the pool at an exclusive hotel in Puerto Rico owned by right-wing billionaire Brock Pierce. Puerto Rico offers a tax-haven for Americans who live there. It is unclear if Netanyahu Jr. was a paying guest or just a visitor.
The TV report said that the hotel where the young Netanyahu was photographed costs several thousand dollars a night. The TV reporter asked how could a relatively unemployed 32-year-old afford the expense? And if Pierce was paying, what did Pierce get in return? Then, some ask, what wasYair Netanyahu’s connection to Pierce?
According to media reports at one point Pierce had Steve Bannon on his staff as a fund-raiser for a start-up that never gained traction. Observers speculate that it could have been Bannon who introduced Netanyahu to Pierce? Or Even Donald Trump? Or perhaps both? Now, said one critic, we have Trump’s people influencing Netanyahu’s son who is said to be one of Netanyahu senior’s most trusted advisers.
Holocaust Memorial Day
The yearly solemn state ceremony held at Yad Vashem, the museum of the Holocaust in Jerusalem, was held Monday night. Most of the government ministers as well as Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and the heads of the military and police were all in attendance. The Prime Minister, sitting beside the beside the President seemed to either be losing his usual cool presence or was tired from his daily grind as he could be seen apparently struggling to concentrate or stay awake.
Former High Court President Aharon Barak
Following the ceremony Israel’s channel 1 Kan TV ran a lengthly interview with former High Court President Aharon Barak, who has been blamed by those in favor of Judicial Reforms of packing the present court only with liberals.
For the first time Barak told the story of his childhood. Why for the first time? “No one ever asked me before,” he said with a shy grin. Barak said he grew up in Kaunas, Lithuania but when the Nazis took over he and his family were moved to the Jewish ghetto in Kovno. He told of the fear and uncertainty of living in the ghetto and how his family managed to find a Catholic farming family who lived outside the Ghetto and agreed to hide Barak and his mother. They’d already been separated from his father.
Barak told of hiding with his mother during the day in a one-meter wide space between two walls of the farmer’s house. This went on for six-months. Finally they were taken by the Bricha, part of the pre-State underground, over the Soviet side of the Austrian alps into the English side. They eventually reunited with his father who had successfully hidden from the Nazis. The family immigrated to Israel arriving in1947.
Barak said the experience burned into his mind a belief in democracy and equality and swore to stop anything similar from happening in Israel.”If I’m asked what is more important the life of a man or the life of the country, I say the country.”
It was no coincidence that the interview was aired during the difficult negotiations between Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition.
Bringing Down The Ship
Netanyahu has said that he will keep on pushing the Judicial Reforms.
Netanyahu’s popularity has sunk in the polls. Should elections be held today he would not be able to assemble a coalition to take power. Recent polls show his Likud party would only garner 20 seats, down from 32. His coalition would scrape up only 53 seats when 61 are needed to take over the government. Meanwhile, Benny Ganz’s stature has soared. His National Unity party is up to 28 seats from 13 in the last election. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party dropped down to 20 seats.
According to the poll, Gantz, former Chief-of-Staff and former Defense Minister, also beats Netanyahu in a popularity contest, Gantz comes out ahead as a choice to lead the country not Netanyahu.
This week Moody’s, the financial rating agency, downgraded Israel pointing to the judicial reforms as wreaking havoc on the economy. At the same time the media is alive with rumors that as soon as the Passover break is over and the Knesset assembles for the summer session, Israel will be faced again with the Judicial Reforms that are being pushed by Netanyahu. Reforms that have brought hundreds of thousands of protesters out into the streets for 15 weeks straight. Reforms that have seen reserve soldiers refuse to show up for duty, including the essential reserve fighter pilots.
One pundit said that given the apparent avalanche of bad news these Judicial Reforms have brought on Israel a reasonable man would reconsider his position and let the reforms wither on the vine But Netanyahu is not showing reason. His trials are still on going. The threat of prison still looms over his head. As one observer said, “He’d rather sink the ship then allow it to sail on peacefully without him.”
