Scientists create model that predicts Earthquake whereabouts

QNA/WASHINGTONLAST EDITED FEBRUARY 12, 2023 

A team of seismologists and statisticians at Northwestern University has created a new model that can predict when and where the next earthquake might strike. The model takes into account the exact order and timing of previous quakes, rather than relying solely on the average time between past quakes.

The team's research focused on investigating plate boundary processes and deformation within the lithosphere using a range of techniques, including seismology and space geodesy (measuring the geometry, gravity, and spatial orientation of the Earth and other astronomical objects, such as planets), and marine geophysics.

Participating researcher James S. Neely said "Sometimes we see several large earthquakes occur over relatively short time frames and then long periods when nothing happens. The traditional models cant handle this behavior."

Neely added that earthquakes occur when the jigsaw puzzle-like pieces of rock that make up the Earth's surface (known as tectonic plates) suddenly move, and most earthquakes occur along fault lines where tectonic plates join and diverge.

The researchers see the new model as a useful tool for seismologists, as they can improve earthquake prediction and better prepare for future seismic events.

The US Geological Survey previously stated that scientists can only calculate the probability of an earthquake occurring within a certain number of years.

4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Al Hoceima northern Morocco

QNA/RABAT

LAST EDITED FEBRUARY 12, 2023 | 

An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale struck on Sunday in the province of Al Hoceima in northern Morocco.
The National Institute of Geophysics in Morocco stated that the tremor occurred at a depth of 18 kilometres.
So far, no reports have been received about human or material losses as a result of the tremor.
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck the province of Al Hoceima last January, without causing any human or material losses.

GOT TUNNEL CARPEL FROM AUTOGRAPHS

Former president Bolsonaro mulls return to Brazil in coming weeks from US

Reuters, Mexico City
Published: 12 February ,2023

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil “in the coming weeks,” after having spent more than a month in the United States.

Bolsonaro flew to Florida two days before incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the new president on January 1, and later applied for a six-month tourist visa to continue his stay in the United States.

“There is no place like home ... We know Brazil is a fantastic country,” Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed.

“I also want to return to Brazil. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks.”

A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in
his home country.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended in the storming of government buildings by his supporters in Brasilia.

His plans to return were put in question after his lawyer told Reuters last month the former president would like to “enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be.”

Still, a US official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week that officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after the carnival festival, which ends on February 22.

Native Americans call for Super Bowl team to change name


Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs do the tomahawk chop in the second half of a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on November 10, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: WESLEY HITT / AFP

Native American groups are expected to protest the Kansas City Chiefs football team, calling for the team to drop their name and logo as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57.

The Chiefs wear the arrowhead logo on their helmet and use a large drum to kick off their home games, as fans routinely engage in what's known as the "tomahawk chop" chant, all of which critics say draw on offensive and racist stereotypes.

This is their third trip to the NFL title game in four years and Kansas City fans can be heard throughout Phoenix singing the "tomahawk chop" chant. It is a jarring contrast to the displays of Native American culture and pride that Super Bowl hosts have invited to participate in the days leading up to the game, which will be Monday afternoon NZ time.

Dancers from Indigenous Enterprise performed at Monday's Opening Night festivities, becoming the first

 Native Americans to perform at the annual media mega event.


In a strange juxtaposition, they took the stage minutes after Kansas City fans in attendance at the Footprint Center joined together in a loud rendition of their "tomahawk chop" chant.

"What the NFL is doing inside Phoenix, by bringing in indigenous dancers and artists, that's celebrating the authentic, which is wonderful," said Cher Thomas, an artist, community organizer and member of the Gila River Community. She will be among those outside the game protesting.

"However, the NFL simultaneously condones Kansas City's team and their names and monikers and their derogatory traditions."

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chiefs supporter Benny Blades, 55, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said he admired the team for "sticking to their guns" as he stood in Scottsdale's Old Town, where fans broke out into spontaneous "tomahawk" chants on streets lined with shops selling Native American arts and crafts.

"We can't say anything now because you're gonna offend one or two percent of the people in the United States," he said.

Scottsdale is directly adjacent to the Salt River-Maricopa Indian Community of more than 7000 residents, one of Arizona's 22 federally recognized tribes.

At Sunday's preshow, when singer Babyface performs "America the Beautiful," Navajo Colin Denny will provide North American Indian Sign Language interpretation.

Chiefs fans are all but assured to perform the "tomahawk chop" cheer loudly in the minutes before kickoff, as they did prior to the game in their previous two Super Bowl appearances.

The Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ak-Chin Indian Community, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Tohono O'odham Nation, who are partners with the Super Bowl host committee, did not respond to multiple interview requests. Another partner, Gila River Indian Community, did not make leadership available.

It is far from the first time the Chiefs name and traditions have come under fire.

In 2019 the Kansas City Star called for an end to the chanting and chopping hand gestures.

Months later, in the days before the Chiefs' Super Bowl triumph over the San Francisco 49ers, the team told Reuters it had "engaged in meaningful discussions with a group comprised of individuals with diverse Native American backgrounds and experiences" over the previous six years.

But amid a nationwide reckoning over race propelled by the Black Lives Matter Movement, their name and the majority of their traditions remained intact, even as the Washington Redskins dropped their nickname in July 2020. The Washington team later replaced the nickname, widely seen as a racist slur, with the Commanders.

A month later the Chiefs announced they would ban the wearing of headdresses at Arrowhead Stadium, where the words "end racism" were painted in the end zone and emblazoned on helmets in a nod to racial justice.

"They use that hashtag #EndRacism and it's on their helmets. And it's tone deaf," said Rhonda LeValdo, an Acoma Pueblo journalist who founded the Not in our Honour coalition in 2005, to advocate against the use of Native American imagery in sports.

"I don't even understand what you guys are saying and you have the Chiefs logo and you guys are doing the chop."

- Reuters

Unidentified Man Open Fires In Pakistan Killing One Transperson, Injuring Two Of Them

“One of the trans people died on the spot while the other two sustained injuries,” said the police official. The injured were rushed to the hospital and admitted for treatment.

Gunmen Throw Eggs At Transgenders, Shoot Dead One In Pakistan Source: 

12 FEB 2023 

An unidentified gunman opened fire in Pakistan’s restive northwest region on Saturday night killing a trans person was killed and injuring two other trans people, police said.

The incident occurred on Saturday night when the three trans persons were on their way back home after attending a music event in Pak's Kohat district.

“One of the trans people died on the spot while the other two sustained injuries,” said the police official. The injured were rushed to the hospital and admitted for treatment.

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Why Safety Is Still A Distant Shore For Transgender Persons In India

(With PTI inputs)

FUNDAMENTLIST FANATICS LIKE U$A

Bangladesh withdraws school books after anti-LGBTQ backlash

One section of the new history and social science book narrates the story of a child called Sharif who transitions, takes the female name Sharifa and goes to live with other transgender people.

12 February, 2023

I

n this photograph taken on January 21, 2023, members of Islamist party ‘Islami Oikyojote’ demonstrate demanding the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) scrap changes in the transgender inclusive books for schools in Dhaka. (Photo by REHMAN ASAD/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Pramod Thomas

Bangladesh said Saturday (11) it had withdrawn two new school textbooks after protests from Islamist groups incensed by a curriculum overhaul to recognise transgender identities, same-sex relationships and secular science.

Thousands have demonstrated in the capital Dhaka since last month demanding that the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) scrap the changes to the books, published for students aged 11 to 13.

One section of the new history and social science book narrates the story of a child called Sharif who transitions, takes the female name Sharifa and goes to live with other transgender people.

The state-run NCTB said it took the decision to withdraw the books “due to some criticisms and to reduce reading load on students”.

“Many schools in our rural areas don’t have adequate resources to impart lessons from these books and the contents are a little heavy,” said spokesman Mohammad Mashiuzzaman.

“There are also debates over the contents of the books. So we decided to take them out for now so that no one can politicise the issue.”

In 2014, the Bangladeshi government allowed people to identify themselves as belonging to a third gender, and it has in recent years given “hijras” broader rights in areas such as housing and higher education.

Multiple Islamic clerics have even issued decrees declaring them part of the country’s Muslim mainstream.

Several trans people have contested and won local elections.

But the conservative Muslim-majority country’s roughly 1.5 million transgender people still face discrimination and violence, and are often forced into begging or the sex trade to earn money.

The NCTB will also modify the content of two other books, Mashiuzzaman said, referring to titles that Islamist groups claimed were “promoting homosexuality”, distorting Bangladeshi history and criticising the tradition of veil-wearing by Muslim women.

One of the withdrawn books included the theory of evolution pioneered by British naturalist Charles Darwin. The book enraged Islamist groups, who called the theory dangerous and demanded it be dropped from the curriculum.

(AFP)

!NO PASSARAN!   BDS

Barcelona cuts ties with twin city Tel Aviv over Israeli 'apartheid'

Pro-Palestine advocates 'salute' the decision while Israel supporters call it 'antisemitic'

Pro-Palestinian activists presenting their petition to Barcelona's City Hall demanding the city cut ties with Tel Aviv (Twitter/Social Media)

By MEE staff
Published date: 9 February 2023

Barcelona will no longer be twinned with Tel Aviv due to Israel's "apartheid policy" towards Palestinians, the city's mayor announced on Wednesday.

Ada Colau said in a press conference that she wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informing him relations between the Spanish city and Israel are severed until "Israeli authorities stop the systematic violation of human rights of the Palestinian people".

She said more than 100 organisations and over 4,000 citizens demanded the city "defends the human rights of Palestinians".

The decision followed a campaign by activists, resulting in an official petition run via Barcelona city hall which gathered more than 4,000 signatures urging the municipality to cut ties with Israel.

Last month, hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in front of Barcelona City Hall, urging politicians to suspend the twin city agreement with Tel Aviv.

Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Gaza City signed a friendship and cooperation agreement in 1998. Pro-Palestinian activists called for Barcelona's relationship with Gaza City to continue.

In her letter to Netanyahu, Colau said that voters had asked her to "condemn the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people, support Palestinian and Israeli organisations working for peace and break off the twinning agreement between Barcelona and Tel Aviv."

Barcelona suspended a twinning relationship with the Russian city of St Petersburg last year following the invasion of Ukraine.
Mixed reactions

The decision was welcomed by pro-Palestine campaigners and condemned by Israel supporters and Jewish groups.

The Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) said it "salutes" Colau and the grassroots groups who helped push the move.

"Barcelona has become the first city council to suspend ties with apartheid Tel Aviv in solidarity with the Palestinian people, a move that is reminiscent of the historic and courageous city councils that pioneered cutting links with apartheid South Africa," BNC said in a statement.

'[The] move is reminiscent of the historic and courageous city councils that pioneered cutting links with apartheid South Africa'

- Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee

The Spanish pro-Israel group Action and Communication on the Middle East, ACOM, called the decision antisemitic and said it will take legal action against Colau.

"The Barcelona City Council has reached a new low by pushing Barcelona to the maximum expression of sectarianism and discrimination, becoming the most openly anti-semitic city in Europe," the group said in a statement.

Lior Haiat, a spokesperson of the Israeli foreign ministry, said on Twitter the the decision gives "support to extremists, terrorist organizations and anti-semitism".

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain echoed echoed similar criticism.

"It so happens that Israel is the only Jewish country in the world. Therefore, in our opinion, this decision has nothing to do with politics, human rights or peace. This has a name and is called 'Sophisticated anti-Semitism,'" the federation said.

Multiple leading rights groups - Palestinain, Israeli and international - have accused Israel of apartheid in recent years.

Apartheid is a legal term defined by international law that refers to systematic oppression by one racial group over another.

 

Mayor of Barcelona suspends all institutional ties with Israel

February 8, 2023 / By Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) /




Barcelona Mayor suspends institutional relations with apartheid Israel, including twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, “until the Israeli authorities put an end to the system of violations of Palestinian human rights and fully comply with the obligations imposed on them by international law and the various United Nations resolutions.”

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest Palestinian coalition leading the BDS movement for freedom, justice and equality, salutes the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and the grassroots groups who helped end institutional links with apartheid Israel. Barcelona has become the first city council to suspend ties with apartheid Tel Aviv in solidarity with the Palestinian people, a move that is reminiscent of the historic and courageous city councils that pioneered cutting links with apartheid South Africa.

With the current Israeli government, the most far-right, racist, sexist and homophobic ever, accountability is more needed than ever to end its impunity and #DismantleApartheid. We call on institutions worldwide to follow in Barcelona’s footsteps and end their own involvement in sustaining Israeli crimes against humanity.

ILLEGAL Israeli settler fatally shoots Palestinian man in West Bank

Israeli forces arrived at the scene of the shooting, where clashes had broken out, only protect groups of armed settlers, witnesses say

A picture from the Palestinian West Bank village of Qarawat Bani Hassan shows the Israeli Jewish-only settlement of Revava (AFP/File photo)

By MEE and agencies
Published date: 11 February 2023

A Jewish settler fatally shot a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Palestinian officials said.

A number of Jewish settlers carrying pistols and one with a rifle approached the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan. At least one of the settlers fired a shot, killing a 27-year-old Palestinian identified as Mothqal Rayyan, witnesses told Reuters.

According to a witness, the Israeli military arrived but only protected the settlers.

Israel-Palestine: CIA chief warns current tensions resemble Second Intifada

Read More »

The Israeli military said its soldiers had been dispatched to the scene after clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinians and Israelis. It said the soldiers had responded with riot dispersal measures and shooting into the air, after which the confrontation had ended.

The military said it was aware of reports that a Palestinian was evacuated to hospital before soldiers arrived and was killed as a result of a gunshot wound.

Israeli police told Reuters an inquiry had been opened into the events.

The West Bank has seen a spike in violence since Israel intensified raids last year.

Also on Saturday, one rocket was fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip and was intercepted by Israeli aerial defences, causing no damage the military said. Sirens sounded in Israeli border communities, sending Israelis running to bomb shelters.

Separately, an eight-year-old Israeli was declared dead on Saturday, raising the death toll to three, after a Palestinian driver rammed his car into a group of people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday, Israeli officials said.

Biden weighs in on Israeli judicial reform for the first time

The U.S. president stressed the importance of consensus building for “fundamental changes” 

• NYT columnist Thomas Friedman: If Netanyahu keeps moving ahead, he’ll be snubbing the White House.

BY MENACHEM WECKER

JNS

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a dinner at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, March 9, 2010. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

(February 12, 2023 / JNS) U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday weighed in on the showdown currently taking place in Israel over Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial reform plan.

In reply to a question from The New York Times‘ veteran columnist Thomas L. Friedman, Biden said that in order for any fundamental change to be sustainable, consensus was required.

“The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary,” the statement read. “Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”

In a column that dropped on the Times’ website one minute after midnight on Sunday, Friedman interpreted that to mean that Biden was signaling to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S.-Israeli relationship “has never truly rested on shared interests,” but has “always been built up from our shared values.”

Biden was implying, according to Friedman, that “whatever Israel does, it must not fundamentally depart from those shared values. Otherwise, we are in a totally new world.”

Friedman suggested that Jerusalem was attempting “to strip the Israeli Supreme Court of its independence” and “put it instead under Netanyahu’s thumb,” and also stated that Israel’s behavior in Judea and Samaria and Gaza was “not consistent with [U.S.] values.”

He also called the prime minister’s coalition “ultranationalist” and “ultrareligious” and wrote that the reforms could “seriously damage Israel’s democracy and therefore its close ties to America and democracies everywhere.”

It was the first time a U.S. president had ever weighed in on an internal debate in Israel regarding something as fundamental as the nature of the country’s democracy, said Friedman. If Netanyahu “just keeps plowing ahead,” he will be snubbing the U.S. president. “That’s no small deal,” he wrote.

Wall Street Journal letters editor Elliot Kaufman tweeted in response that a snub was in order.

The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee is scheduled to resume its debate over the reform on Sunday, while a vote to approve the bill for a first reading could take place as early as the next day. If the proposed legislation is approved on Monday, then it could be sent for its first reading in the plenum as early as Wednesday.

Organizers of the weekly Saturday night protests against the government’s judicial reform have called for a nationwide strike this week.

“On Monday, we will head to Jerusalem to defend and fight for our country,” said Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid in extending political backing for the move. “Employers need to allow every worker who wants to go to Jerusalem to fight for the country, to fight for our democracy and to say that we will not allow you to destroy our democracy.’”

Lapid last month called the government’s proposed judicial overhaul an “extreme regime change” and vowed to continue fighting in streets across the country in “a war over our home.”

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused his political opponents of “planting the seeds of disaster” by encouraging a public rebellion against a democratically-elected government.

Netanyahu last week harshly criticized what he said was a “growing wave” of threats directed at himself and other officials, after a leader of the anti-government protests appeared to call for his assassination.

Netanyahu’s remarks came after former Israeli Air Force pilot Ze’ev Raz wrote on Facebook that, “If a prime minister rises and assumes dictatorial powers, he is a dead man, it’s that simple…. There’s an obligation to kill them.”

The judicial reform proposal includes changing the way judges are selected so that the Knesset members will have majority say on the Judicial Selection Committee; passing an “override clause,” a law that would give legislators the power to reverse, or “override,” the Supreme Court when it strikes down laws; abolishing the legal justification of “reasonableness” by which the court can cancel Knesset decisions; and empowering ministers to hire and fire their own legal advisers.

Netanyahu has rejected as “baseless” claims by critics that the reforms would mark the end of the country’s democracy, and vowed to implement them “responsibly.”

ISRAEL EMBRACES ITS INNER NAZI JUDGE* 

Israelis continue weekend protests against Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plans

First reading of proposals are set to take place in Knesset on Monday, with opposition calling for additional protests and partial strikes

Israeli protesters attend a rally in central Tel Aviv, on 11 February, against controversial legal reforms being touted by the country's hard-right government (AFP)

By MEE and agencies
Published date: 11 February 2023 

Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday for another week of protests against judicial overhaul plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government which critics say threaten democratic checks on ministers by the courts.

The plans, which the government says are needed to curb overreach by judges, have drawn fierce opposition from groups including lawyers, and raised concerns among business leaders, widening already deep political divisions in Israeli society.

Israel's military 'justice' system is turning in on itselfRead More »

"We (are) ...here in order to demonstrate against the government of Israel under Netanyahu, which in our belief is against democracy and are going to do anything they can in order to take out democracy of Israel," said Illan Bendori, 70, at a protest in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has dismissed the protests as a refusal by leftist opponents to accept the results of last November's election, which produced one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history.

"We are ...very proud of our democracy and he wants to make Israel something else. We will not agree, we will do everything in our power to stop it," Hadar Weis, 61, told Reuters at the protest in Tel Aviv.

The protesters say Israeli democracy would be undermined if the government succeeds in pushing through the plans, which would tighten political control over judicial appointments and limit the Supreme Court's powers to overturn government decisions or Knesset laws.

Additional protests and partial strikes are called for Monday when a first reading of the proposals is set to take place in the parliament.

Israel's N12 news released a poll on Saturday revealing that 62 percent of Israelis want the proposed judicial plans to be either paused or halted altogether.

On Cusp of Judicial Reform Vote, Israelis Step Up Opposition

Protesters against the Israeli government's proposed judicial reforms march in Tel Aviv on February 11, 2023. 

(Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

MOHAMMAD AL-KASSIM
02/12/2023

Tens of thousands protest in Israel for 6th week against government’s efforts to weaken Israel’s Supreme Court and wrest control of judicial appointments

Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied for the sixth week against their government’s planned legal reform of the country’s judicial system. The largest protests on Saturday night were held in Tel Aviv, with several other large demonstrations taking place around the country.

The protesters were rallying to condemn proposed controversial judicial reforms pushed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which as written would give the government control over the appointment of new judges and weaken the Supreme Court.

The protests have become a weekly event on Saturday nights since the prime minister’s new government – labeled the most extreme, right-wing government in Israel’s history – took office in late December.


Women protest against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms rally in Tel Aviv on February 11, 2023. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

Moran Katzenstein, founder of Bonot Alternativa, a feminist group that works to counter discrimination and violence against women, told The Media Line that she is most concerned about the proposed changes that will impact the Supreme Court.

Katzenstein, who has attended every demonstration, accuses the government of being “misogynists” and “chauvinists.”

“Now it feels like this is a real milestone in discrimination against women, and this is where all women’s organizations are partnering together to demonstrate and to show our protest against the activity of the government,” she said.

She says she does not want the government to collapse, but calls on the “more rational” group of lawmakers within the government to take a stand.

“I think there are enough people in the government that can stop what’s going on themselves,” she said.

“I’m very concerned about what’s going to be with my beloved country after the changes that this government intends to do. It won’t be the same Israel as everybody knows until now,” Yaron, who drove an hour from Jerusalem to attend the demonstration in Tel Aviv, told The Media Line.


Protesters against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms rally in Tel Aviv on February 11, 2023. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

He added that “just 75 years after independence and nobody can be sure that we are going to keep being an independent and democratic country anymore.”

He called on President Isaac Herzog to intervene.

“I expect from our president to be more active not to let them do it,” he said.

Netanyahu returned to power following elections in November, the fifth in three years, at the head of the country’s most religious, nationalist coalition ever.

His proposed judicial reforms would allow Israel’s parliament to override any Supreme Court decision with a simple majority of 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat body, as well as boost political control over the system through which judges are appointed.

A first reading of the bill is scheduled for Monday.

Leaders of the protest movement opposing the reforms have called for a country-wide general strike on the same day.

Many young Israelis were in the Tel Aviv crowd, among them first-timer Gal, 21, who is calling on people his age to be more active and take a larger role “to protect the future of the country.”

“It’s nice that people older than me are coming to these protests because it’s important but, at the end of the day, people who are going to be affected in the long run are people my age,” he told The Media Line.

A sea of Israeli flags seen in Tel Aviv at the protest against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms on February 11, 2023. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

Gal, like many of the protesters, is demanding the resignation of Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption charges in court. He accuses the prime minister of putting his personal interests ahead of the government.

“We have a prime minister that’s trying to change the judicial system so he can get away with being corrupt. He is trying in every way to weaken the judiciary system to escape his trial,” according to Gal.

Netanyahu denies the charges against him, which include bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Israel’s former attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, accused Netanyahu of advancing the controversial reforms in order to bring an end to his ongoing criminal trial.

Mandelblit said in an interview broadcast Thursday that the proposed overhaul to the judicial system would be “regime change” that would “eliminate the independence of Israel’s legal system from end to end.”

*CARL SCHMITT

OLD TESTAMENT CURSE OF A VENGEFUL GOD

Turkey-Syria earthquake: Controversial Israeli rabbi calls disaster 'divine justice'

Shmuel Eliyahu claimed God was punishing countries affected by disaster because of alleged mistreatment of the Jewish people

NOT VERY NEIGHBOURLY AT ALL

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu speaks in 2019 (Wikicommons)

By MEE staff
Published date: 12 February 2023 

A controversial Israeli rabbi has sparked outrage after claiming the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday was "divine justice".

Shmuel Eliyahu, who serves as the chief Rabbi of Safed in northern Israel and is a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, claimed that God was punishing countries affected by the disaster because of their alleged mistreatment of the Jewish people.

"God is judging all the nations around us who wanted to invade our land and throw us into the sea," Eliyahu wrote in an op-ed published in the Olam Katan newspaper on Friday.

At least 28,000 people were killed in Monday's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, with as many as 18m people directly affected in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Syria earthquake: Survivors in northwest region cling to hope as aid finally arrivesRead More »

In his column, Eliyahu claimed that Syria had "abused its Jewish residents for hundreds of years, invaded Israel three times, shot for years at the farmers who lived at the foot of the Golan Heights, abused captives and hanged [Israeli spy] Eli Cohen."

He also took aim at Lebanon, which was rocked by the quake and is facing a debilitating financial crisis, writing: "There is no doubt that the country, which was once the 'Switzerland of the Middle East' has become hell on earth, and such things do not happen by chance."

As for Turkey, which served as the epicentre of the quake, he wrote: "We don't know what the Heaven's accounts are with Turkey, which slandered us in every possible arena, but if God reveals that he is going to make judgements on our enemies, we know that everything that happens is to clean the world and make it better."

Eliyahu, who is the the father of right-wing parliamentarian and Israel's minister of heritage, Amihai Ben-Eliyahu, has repeatedly courted controversy over his anti-Palestinian and Arab remarks, and has been indicted for inciting racism.

In 2008, he called on the government to carry out "state-sanctioned revenge" against Arabs in order to restore what he described as Israel's deterrence in the wake of an attack at a Jewish school in Jerusalem.

And in 2019, he told teenagers suspected of murdering a Palestinian woman in the West Bank that they shouldn't fear prison as that's where the road to political power begins, prompting several rights groups to call for disciplinary action and criminal charges to be filed against him.

Since the devastating earthquake, dozens of countries from across the world have dispatched aid and rescues team to Turkey, including Israel.

Rocky relationship

Relations between Turkey and Israel worsened in 2011, when Ankara expelled Israel's ambassador following a UN report into Israel's 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship to Gaza, during which nine Turkish citizens were killed.

The rift was healed in 2016 when full diplomatic relations were restored and both countries traded ambassadors.

Late last year, Israel's President Isaac Herzog met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara, marking the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the country since 2008.