As Canada’s single-use ban rolls out, ‘Big Plastic’ takes Ottawa to court; international community vows to protect world’s oceans

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 12:29 p.m.

Imagine sitting down to dinner and cutting into the perfectly cooked piece of wild salmon you just got on sale at the grocery store. But between the layers of succulent pink fillet you pull out a small piece of blue plastic.

The scenario sounds outrageous, but it’s true.

Canada produces more than four million tons of plastic waste each year. And the problem has only become worse since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Takeout containers virtually replaced all the lost restaurant meals, plastic bags were used to carry out or deliver online purchases and single-use utensils and containers became far more common.

Oceana, an international organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans, reported in November that the Coca-Cola company increased its plastic packaging by almost nine percent, or 579 million pounds, from 2020 to 2021.

Many of these plastic products end up in oceans. Globally, every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of plastic enters the oceans. Some of this remains in large pieces, trapping and harming aquatic life, while others break down into tiny microplastics which get ingested and end up in marine animals and their blood streams. Currently, there are 51 trillion microscopic pieces of plastic in our oceans, weighing 269,000 tons.

In 2018, the federal government committed itself to fighting plastic pollution. It pledged to reduce unnecessary single-use plastics that make their way into the environment.

“They needed a legal mechanism to be able to do that,” Anthony Merante, Plastics Campaigner at Oceana Canada, said.

In 2021, the federal government took a first step and designated plastic as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). In order to designate a substance as “toxic” under the CEPA, the material must undergo a broad scientific assessment. From this, it was determined that when plastic makes its way into the environment it is harmful to wildlife and the environment, and, as a result, the designation under the CEPA was granted. Other substances that have been designated as toxic in Canada in the past include DDT, mercury, lead, and asbestos.

“Aside from the science, if you look to any headline, you can clearly see that that is true,” Merante said. “Headline after headline a beached whale has surfaced in Nova Scotia with so much plastic, sea birds entangled in plastic waste. And there's a lot of studies showing that a lot of our fish, especially in the Great Lakes, have plastic in their blood and in the tissue.”

In 2022, the first phase of Canada’s single-use plastic ban came into effect. As of December, there was a ban on the manufacture and import for sale in Canada of checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks and some types of straws. According to the prohibition timeline, it will take until December of 2025 for all bans to be in place. These bans would not be possible without the designation of plastic as toxic.

Plastic producers are far from supportive of the CEPA designation. Listing the substance as toxic cuts into the profits of a $35-billion industry by limiting its ability to produce and sell plastics.

As a result, a group of Canada’s largest plastic producing companies, including Dow Chemical, Imperial Oil and NOVA Chemicals, calling themselves the Responsible Plastic Use Coalition (RPUC), backed by American oil companies and the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, took the federal government to court three weeks ago, pleading for a judicial review in hopes of overturning the designation of plastic as a toxic substance.

During three days of hearings inside a Toronto Federal Courtroom starting March 7, RPUC stood on the arguments that not all plastic is threatening to wildlife, the current legislation relies on science that has not been proven (certain damages to species and ecosystems from plastics have allegedly not been proven) and that the bigger issue is dealing with plastic waste, not limiting its production. The group also argued that Canada is reading into the CEPA legislation too broadly and therefore overstepping its jurisdiction to impose sweeping bans on plastic products. One of the plastic industry’s main arguments in the case is that the federal government, through its legislation, is disregarding constitutional authority that gives provinces control over waste management.

Despite objections from RPUC, several environmental groups were present to intervene in the case, arguing that the underlying science for the CEPA designation is well founded. Oceana Canada and Environmental Defence, represented by EcoJustice, state their position is crucial and they do not have a financial or institutional stake in the result of the decision, rather they are experts in the science and policy related to the plastic pollution crisis and, more specifically, the CEPA.

The intervenors have warned that a ruling in favour of plastics producers could turn back numerous bans already in place and other broad environmental initiatives could be negatively impacted at a time when extreme action is needed to avoid ecosystem and climate catastrophe.

Critics have pointed out that legal systems and governments around the world have to stop making decisions in support of short-term economic considerations, which often only benefit ownership and investor classes, while the future of the entire planet suffers.

The plastics industry players behind the legal action have launched a campaign to push back against the federal government’s policy initiative.

“The (toxic) label [under CEPA] is not only scientifically inaccurate but could have far-reaching and unintended consequences,” the Responsible Plastic Use Coalition said on its website. “The Coalition opposes the designation of any plastic manufactured items as toxic and believes that the federal government, along with industry and stakeholders throughout the value chain, must work together to innovate and implement tools that will solve the problems of plastic waste.

“The problem Canada is facing is not plastic — its plastic waste. And we believe there are far more impactful policy decisions to divert waste from our natural environment, including a comprehensive circular economy system in Canada.”

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault pushed back against the powerful plastic industry.

"While a handful of big multinational companies try to stop our ban on harmful single-use plastics, we're going to keep fighting for the clean, healthy environment Canadians deserve," he said in a statement. "We're going to stick to the facts and science and deliver the sustainable options Canadians are asking for."

Current waste management is not equipped to deal with the plastic crisis. In Canada, only eight percent of our plastic waste is recycled. This is due to personal choice and waste infrastructure that cannot handle the need to keep plastic out of the environment.

The governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan claimed the federal government is over-extending its legal power because the provinces play a role in the management of plastic waste under their jurisdiction.

In September, Environmental Defence published a scathing report along with a report card that shows the federal government cannot rely on provincial waste management policy to solve the plastic pollution problem. Only two provinces received a passing grade: British Columbia ©; and Prince Edward Island (D+). The remaining provinces and all the territories received failing grades.

In response to the claim by the RPUC that not all plastic is damaging to the environment, Merante said the science is the evidence. All plastics can break down into microplastics which can be consumed by animals. These microscopic particles then make their way into the bloodstream and flesh. When they enter into water bodies, they impact the chemical composition, do harm to aquatic life and compromise the overall health of rivers, lakes and oceans. This is not disputed, Merante said.

Since its invention in 1907, by the post-war period, plastic has dominated commerce due to its versatility and ease of use. Items that were once made of glass, metal or other more sustainable materials, are now made of plastics. With the onset of the pandemic, single-use plastics became commonplace with the appeal of takeout food, online shopping and the use of disposable masks and gloves for protection.

“Plastic companies are not responsible for what happens after it's purchased? I think that's crazy, because any other product that's put out in the market that causes harm after sale is generally really regulated,” Merante said, criticizing one of the arguments made by the industry. “Cigarettes are highly regulated. Alcohol is highly regulated, because it poses a threat to people. But it seems that when it's the environment, there's kind of a lack of definition of what's impactful.”

Canada is already falling behind on its plastic promises. A target has been set to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, but Karen Wirsig, Plastics Program Manager at Environmental Defence, told The Pointer back in December that fulfilling this target is not possible. The impact of the bans put in place by the federal government will be relatively small. With all bans in place by 2025, Wirsig said this will only decrease plastic waste by about five percent.

While the bans put in place by the federal government may only be a start, overturning them is not an option if Canada wants to meet its commitments to protect our water and the numerous species being impacted by plastic waste. The production of plastic, which is made from oil, also contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. Research published by the World Economic Forum shows over the four decades ending in 2015, global plastics production quadrupled and at that rate, “GHG emissions from plastics would reach 15 percent of the global carbon budget by 2050”.

Canadians are a major part of the problem.

“We're a low population, but we use single-use plastic in and by far larger than many other countries,” Merante said. “We are an economy of single-use and throwing out; we do not reuse that often.”

According to him, over 50 countries and many smaller jurisdictions such as states and municipalities, have regulations that fight pollution from the plastics industry. “To turn in the other direction and ignore that and continue polluting is really out of step with what the global population is doing.”

The plastic pollution crisis is designated as the second most environmentally pressing problem, next to climate change, by the UN, and it has direct links to many of the broader environmental challenges we face.

The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization that is developing technologies to clean plastic from the world’s oceans, estimates there are 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a gyre of garbage in the central-north Pacific Ocean. This is the equivalent of 250 pieces of plastic debris for every human in the world and weighs about as much as 500 jumbo jets.

“I don't think you can find a coastal community in Canada that, no matter what kind of material it is, it ends up in the water,” Merante said. “Bags, coffee cups, lead, cigarette filters, everything makes its way into the environment one way or another, whether it wants to or not.”

Nearly half the world’s surface area is designated as part of the high seas, meaning it is not governed by any nation, resulting in much of the oceans becoming the world’s dumping grounds.

There is hope this could change. On March 5, the UN reached a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas. This came after two weeks of talks in New York and 20 years of ongoing global discussions for an updated framework to protect marine life. The historic agreement is vital for achieving simultaneous ocean related goals such as the 30 by 30 framework agreed upon at COP 15, which includes sweeping “conservation and management of at least 30% of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans, with emphasis on areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services” by 2030.

“This action is a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come,” the UN chief and Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement issued by a spokesperson after the agreement was reached in early March.

Merante said that Canada has a fundamental responsibility, as the nation borders three oceans and has by far the longest coastline of any country, at more than 265,000 kilometres. The current legal challenge by the plastics industry and two Canadian provinces, arguing the federal government’s designation of plastic as a toxin is not founded, will create one of two precedent-setting outcomes: the court could confirm the legal legitimacy of Canada’s commitment to protect its own natural environment and broader global ecosystems; or it could undo years of recent gains in the fight to protect the planet from devastating industrial pollution.

“Really we have an intrinsic desire to see plastic pollution be reduced and our oceans protected,” Merante said.

After presenting their arguments at the beginning of the month, both sides, and millions around the world, will have to wait three to six months for a decision.

Email: rachel.morgan@thepointer.com
Twitter: @rachelnadia_
Rachel Morgan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer

A way of life is all but extinguished by New Mexico's largest wildfire

Deon J. Hampton
Sun, March 26, 2023 

MORA COUNTY, N.M. — Benito Sanchez has been living in an Albuquerque hotel room with his ailing, 100-year-old grandmother for the past year after the state's largest wildfire burned their modular home to the ground.

A homeowners insurance claim paid Sanchez $70,000, enough to help with the groceries but not enough to buy another home.

Sanchez, 49, and his grandmother Tommie Carter, who breathes with the aid of an oxygen device, were among nearly 100 Mora County residents who were displaced, some of whom descendants of Indigenous people who lived off the land and settlers who put down roots in northern New Mexico in the 1800s.

“Let’s just say everything you’ve ever accumulated was all of a sudden gone in one day because someone lit a match and it wasn’t an accident,” said Sanchez, a state employee who helps people find jobs.

The fire ignited on April 6, when a controlled burn went awry and became the Hermits Peak fire. That fire later merged with the Calf Canyon fire, which started when smoldering roots from a previous controlled burn spontaneously rekindled.

All told, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire chewed through more than 341,000 acres, torched about 62 million trees in Santa Fe National Forest and private lands and burned down 220 structures.

A picture of the lasting tree damage from the wildfire in Mora County last year. About 62 million trees were burned. (Deon J. Hampton / NBC News)

Mora County in northwest New Mexico took the brunt of the damage, the remnants of which remain strikingly visible. In the neighborhood of Real De La Casa, blackened trees, barren peaks and scarred hills mark the landscape amid an eery silence. Dirty, brownish water flows down streams, and beetles search for sap in the carcasses of trees. Rocks and stones cracked by the fire's heat are strewn about.

“All of the aesthetics have changed,” said Mora County road supervisor John Romero. “All of the fish died from ash.”

Officials said the tens of millions of dead trees could topple over and reburn. State forester Laura McCarthy said trees posing a hazard near roads would be cut down.
A way of life is lost

The massive wildfire all but extinguished a way of life rich in traditions that had been passed down for generations in the remote Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 2,000 square miles of forestland spread across northern New Mexico.

Indigenous people and settlers lived off the land, hunting deer and turkey for food, collecting water from natural springs and building mud-brick homes that were passed down to family members over the decades.

They developed a sacred relationship with the land, believing that if they took care of the hallowed grounds, the mountains and forests would take care of them, said state historian Rob Martinez.

Much of the once-abundant wildlife, such as bears, buffaloes, foxes and rabbits, which local hunters relied on for food or to sell, have fled the burned-out territory. Loggers, ranchers and farmers also saw their livelihoods go up in flames.

Officials in Mora County said they were still trying to determine how much financial damage the fire caused, but about 75 businesses were forced to close and an estimated 100 residents had to relocate.

Early data compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management estimate Mora County sustained $29 million in damage, and losses statewide totaled $189 million.

More than half the households in the county depended on firewood for heating and some for cooking, officials said, and they have had to convert to electricity or gas for those needs.

The U.S. Forest Service conducted the controlled burns to rid the forest of dry undergrowth that could fuel wildfires.

MORA, NM- MAY 13: A firefighter works on putting out a hotspot from a wildfire on Friday May 13, 2022 in Mora, NM. The Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak fires have been burning in the region. The Hermits Peak fire started as a prescribed burn. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post via Getty Images file)

A lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in June against the U.S. Forest Service in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. Originally, about 50 plaintiffs were party to the suit, but hundreds more later joined. The lawsuit was dismissed after the Hermits Peak Fire Assistance Act was passed, which will help compensate people who suffered damages.

“This was a real catastrophic loss in an area that’s really difficult to rebuild in,” said Antonia Roybal-Mack, an attorney for the families. “They didn’t ask for this. These were generational lands. It’s gone now. The federal government started a fire on a windy day and burned 341,000 acres.”

The act, signed by President Joe Biden in September, provides $2.5 billion in compensation to New Mexicans and tribal nations affected by the fire. Another $1.45 billion was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a spending package that in part helps fund rural housing loans, rental assistance and infrastructure.

Some residents who lost their homes received a maximum $37,900 in disaster relief funds from FEMA.

'Nobody is coming to our rescue'

For 51 years, Mora County resident Tito Naranjo, 85, and his wife lived in their adobe home on 100 acres containing four natural springs and two creeks that joined below his house. Deer, bears and rabbits lived among the pines and aspens, and eagles soared above, hunting for prey.

“There were herds of turkey, up to 100 of them,” said Naranjo, who has been living with his son near Santa Fe since his house burned down. He said FEMA denied his application for emergency support after concluding he did not permanently reside at the house.

Although Naranjo never received a formal explanation, a FEMA official said claims can be denied for many reasons, including not having proper documentation.

“We got absolutely nothing from FEMA," Naranjo said. "Not one penny.”

Patrick Griego, 63, lost 400 acres and 72,000 trees, putting a financial strain on his business selling logs to companies that make flooring.

He estimates his company, Griego Logging LLC, will lose up to $700,000 every year he remains in business because even if he replants, the trees will not grow large enough to harvest in his lifetime.

Lumberjack Patrick Griego, tossing logs into the back of his truck, said his company will lose up to $700,000 a year because of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire. Displaced Mora County resident Kathryn Uehlein has been living out of a donated RV for the past year after her home burned in the wildfire. (Deon J. Hampton / NBC News)

Kathryn Uehlein, 65, lived in an uninsurable yurt on 36 acres she owns, but both the land and the dome-shaped tent were destroyed in the wildfire. She now sleeps in a recreational vehicle donated by a local woman and uses solar energy for electricity. She said she received $2,000 from FEMA.

“It was crumbs,” Uehlein said. “I have no money. Nobody is coming to our rescue, and the government started the fire.”

Tina Grine-Martinez, 69, said she received $300,000 in homeowners insurance after living in a home she inherited from her father.

“We’re a lot better than what we were a few months ago,” she said, adding that no amount of money will replace the spiral staircase her father built by hand, using a chainsaw, hammer and nails.

"All the memories were there," she said. "It's really heartbreaking."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

"WE ARE LASER FOCUSED ON ISIS"
19 killed in US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria: new toll

AFP
Sat, March 25, 2023 

The death toll from retaliatory US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria following a deadly drone attack has risen to 19, a war monitor said Saturday, as Washington insisted it is not seeking conflict with Tehran.

Further rocket attacks by Iran-backed militias took place late Friday, prompting more strikes by coalition warplanes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Washington carried out the initial strikes after the Pentagon said a US contractor died -- and another contractor and five military personnel were wounded -- by a drone "of Iranian origin" that struck a US-led coalition base near Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Thursday.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that, at President Joe Biden's direction, he had ordered the "precision air strikes... in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps".

On Saturday, the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground, said 19 people were killed in the first wave of US strikes: three Syrian regime soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed forces, including 11 Syrian nationals.

Following the strikes, Biden sought to lower the temperature saying the United States "does not seek conflict with Iran, but is prepared to act forcefully to protect our people".

- More rocket attacks -

Hours after the strikes, 10 rockets were fired at American and coalition forces at the Green Village base in northeast Syria, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

There were no injuries or damage to facilities at the base, but one rocket struck a home around five kilometres (three miles) away, causing minor wounds to two women and two children, CENTCOM added.

Iran-backed militias later Friday targeted a base in the Conoco gas field, prompting retaliatory strikes from coalition warplanes on targets in Deir Ezzor city, the Observatory said.

The war monitor said rocket fire then targeted coalition facilities at the Al-Omar oil field base and in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, "causing material damage".

A "cautious calm" returned to the Deir Ezzor area in the early hours of Saturday morning, the Observatory said.

Militias affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards have a heavy presence across Syria, especially around the border with Iraq, and south of the Euphrates in Deir Ezzor province, where the latest US strikes took place.

The United States has about 900 troops in posts across northeastern Syria to keep pressure on the remnants of the Islamic State group and support the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which control most of the northeast.

The Pentagon said two F-15 fighters launched the retaliatory attack -- which spokesman Pat Ryder said was to protect US personnel.

The strikes "were intended to send a very clear message that we will take the protection of our personnel seriously and that we will respond quickly and decisively if they are threatened," he said.

They were "proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation to minimise casualties," he said.

- 'Always respond' -

US personnel in Syria have frequently been targeted in attacks by militia groups the United States says are backed by Tehran.

Two of the US service members wounded on Thursday were treated on site, while the three other troops and one US contractor were evacuated to Iraq, the Pentagon said.

"We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing," said CENTCOM chief General Michael Kurilla.

In January, the US military said three one-way attack drones were launched against the Al-Tanf garrison in Syria, with one breaching its air defences and wounding two allied Syrian fighters.

Last August, Biden ordered similar retaliatory strikes in Deir Ezzor province after several drones targeted a coalition outpost, without causing any casualties.

"We know that these groups are sponsored by Iran," Ryder said.

"So Iran certainly plays a role in terms of ensuring that this type of activity doesn't happen," he said.

bur/pmh/wd/st/lg/pjm/dv

TV’s Succession doesn’t skewer the 1% – it hoodwinks us into accepting the status quo

Martha Gill

THE GUARDIAN
Sun, 26 March 2023 




Succession is back, sweeping portentously over New York’s skyline, reeking of money and menace. Like the very best seasons of The Real Housewives, it has everything: fabulous couture, looming mansions, smashing mini-breaks and the generous invitation to pity or despise almost all the characters in it.

Succession led the way, but since we last left the Roys in late 2021 there has been an explosion of “eat the rich” on screen. The rich have been skewered figuratively in The White Lotus and literally in The Menu. In Triangle of Sadness, the capsize of a super-yacht tumbled influencers and moguls to the bottom of the social hierarchy; in Glass Onion, a tech bro billionaire figure was dramatically relieved of his priceless art collection. There has perhaps never been a worse time to be a fictional oligarch. If you’re lucky, you’ll be merely miserable (your riches, you see, will have robbed you of everything that truly matters in life). At worst, you’ll be elaborately dead.

We should note, though, that, while we stick pins into them on screen, in real life oligarchs have never had it better. They’re getting richer, for a start. The net worth of the planet’s 10 wealthiest men doubled over the pandemic – one percenters are now on track to own two-thirds of the planet’s wealth by 2030. And while their scripted counterparts get their bloody comeuppance, in reality the rich are slipperier than ever. Tax avoidance proliferates. Judges still under-punish white-collar criminals. A story in the Guardian quotes a wealth manager who claims that the ability to stay unruffled by the flamboyant vices of clients has become an informal job requirement. The resurrection of Partygate last week reminds us that police spent the pandemic prowling park benches for erring commoners while ignoring the festivities raging inside Downing Street.

But then the screen rarely reflects the culture as much as its opposite. Between 2014 and 2019, for example, there was a fad for retelling classic stories from the villain’s point of view – Maleficent and Joker rehabilitated and humanised their wicked protagonists. But that coincided with the peak of cancel culture, a social custom that does quite the reverse: it specifically denies its victims any possibility of a redemption arc, while painting ordinary people as cartoon villains. Or take the rise of science fiction and fantasy, which has dominated western – but not eastern – cinema since about 1980. Sociologists have claimed this has a lot to do with the decline of religion. As westerners grew disenchanted with the church, they sought enchantment and awe in the cinema.

We should recognise “eat the rich” TV for what it is: not as any sort of cultural “reckoning” for the prosperous and corrupt, but pure catharsis – a sort of inverted mirror of society. The more violently a culture squishes the undeserving wealthy on screen, the more it tends to valorise them in reality. These TV revenge fantasies are similar to medieval traditions of misrule, festivals where hierarchies were reversed for a day. Fools became kings and insulted their social betters and low and high officials in the church swapped places – dancing backwards and reciting nonsense sermons.

Why did kings and church leaders tolerate this insurrection? It was a useful release valve through which to expend any rebellious impulses. Let the people indulge their fantasies of revolt for a day – then return, refreshed, to the normal order of things. Misrule didn’t really threaten existing hierarchies – in fact, it affirmed them. The chaos and “foolishness” of the ceremonies implied the superiority of the way things were usually run.

The more violently a culture squishes the undeserving wealthy on screen, the more it tends to valorise them in reality

So it is with The White Lotus, Glass Onion and the rest. They offer us 99 percenters a Sunday evening outlet for any resentments we might feel, the better to return to our labours on the morrow. Far from challenging prevailing hierarchies, they slyly encourage us to accept them. Watching this sort of satire has a brilliantly soothing effect on any outrage we might feel: replacing it with a lovely feeling of superiority. How should one respond to the evil doings of the powerful? This sort of TV teaches us a weary smirk.

Part of the soothing is to reassure us, too, that we might actually be better off as we are: the lives of the wealthy, after all, seem dreadfully unpleasant. There’s something almost Huxleyish about this – the lower tiers of Brave New World’s caste system are taught little recitations to keep them happily in their place: “Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they’re so frightfully clever. I’m awfully glad I’m a Beta, because I don’t work so hard.”

The rich are very unhappy, Glass Onion suggests, because they can’t trust their friends: everyone wants something from them. The rich are very unhappy, Succession says, because dynastic wealth divides families and turns them against one another. The rich are very unhappy, Triangle of Sadness says, because in the absence of real problems one becomes obsessive and petty. I suppose it’s just as well we’re not rich, then.

The sort of challenge this presents the rich and powerful can be read into the efforts of the hotel in which The White Lotus was filmed to assure visitors they will get the full treatment. “The resort’s real vibe is very much similar to what you see in the series,” the manager told reporters (in the series several of the guests are eventually murdered). Triangle of Sadness, meanwhile, got a standing ovation at an elite showing at Cannes – one of the world’s most opulent film festivals.

It is hard to make a film about the wealthy that is not also a bit aspirational – envy of the rich is, after all, the engine on which our societies run: they are shown off to prove the system works. No film-maker can resist a little lovingly shot lavishness. These shows suggest they will upend the status quo but leave it safer than ever.

• Martha Gill is a political journalist and former lobby correspondent

AUSTRALIA

NSW election trends: a decisive Labor win, uneven swings and a large crossbench

Ben Raue
Sun, 26 March 2023 

Photograph: James Gourley/AAP

The New South Wales state election result was a resounding defeat for the Liberal-National Coalition government, and a clear victory for Labor. Yet this victory occurred in an environment of an increasing minor party and independent vote, and the largest crossbench in modern NSW history.

In some ways there were a lot of parallels with last year’s federal election result. A slim parliamentary majority alongside a large crossbench, with the outgoing government badly defeated. But this Labor victory was bigger than last year’s federal election result, and Labor managed to pick up a number of regional seats in addition to gains in urban areas.

Related: Key results: where the NSW election was won by Labor and lost by the Coalition

Labor is currently on about 54.3% of the two-party-preferred vote, which is a decisive result. This closely mirrors the final Newspoll of 54.5%, but is stronger than most of the other recent polls, which had Labor leading with about 52-53%. Whether this is evidence of a late swing to Labor or a failure of earlier polling will be debated.

That extra boost in support was crucial to Labor’s victory. Despite a large two-party-preferred margin, Labor looks set to win a narrow majority. The party is currently leading in 49 out of 93 seats, while narrowly trailing in eight others. That extra 2% made the difference between a Labor minority government and a Labor majority.

While Labor did gain numerous seats, it wasn’t uniform. If you check out the pre-election pendulum, you can see a number of very marginal seats that remain in Coalition hands, while Labor has picked up some much safer seats. Super-marginal seats such as East Hills and Penrith just fell across the line with small swings. The Coalition is leading or has retained regional marginals like Upper Hunter, Tweed and Goulburn. The swing to Labor was modest in Winston Hills (where the Liberal is narrowly leading) but huge in neighbouring Parramatta.

Related: NSW election: Chris Minns to meet with senior colleagues immediately as Coalition recriminations begin

And then Labor has picked up a number of safer Coalition seats with massive swings. South Coast and Monaro fell with swings of more than 15%, supplementing Labor’s Bega byelection win in 2022. Most commentators were shocked at Labor picking up large swings in Miranda and Terrigal, two seats that were not on the radar as possible gains but now have Labor narrowly in front.

There was a lot of hype about independent challenges in the wake of the teal wave at the federal election. At the moment an independent has gained the seat of Wakehurst and independents are still in the hunt in the seats of Pittwater, Willoughby and Wollondilly. The three former members of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, now independents, running in western NSW were re-elected with enlarged majorities. The two sitting Greens MPs increased their margins, while the Greens are narrowly ahead in Balmain, where Labor mounted a strong challenge following the retirement of local Greens MP Jamie Parker.

While the independent wave in northern Sydney may not have been as sweeping as at the federal election, this is still a historically notable performance. Independent challenges usually live or die based on local factors – the local member (or absence of one), the candidate and the local issues.

The overall minor party and independent vote is up to over 28%, up from a previous record of 25% in 2019. The Greens have gained a small swing on the vote count so far, while One Nation’s vote is roughly steady.

Related: Chris Minns’ narrow road to victory proves a winning formula with NSW voters

A growing field of parties look set to win seats in the Upper House, with as many as seven minor party members on track to win seats. The Legalise Cannabis and Liberal Democrats parties are looking to be in a strong position to win their first seats in the NSW parliament, while the Greens will regain their second seat lost when a member became an independent in 2019.

One Nation has gained one seat but look like it might fall short of picking up a second seat. The Animal Justice party’s chances of retaining its seat is looking tight.

Overall the political balance of the upper house looks set to shift to the left by at least one seat, and possibly two. If the parties of the left – including Labor, the Greens, Legalise Cannabis and Animal Justice – can win 12 seats, that will produce an overall progressive majority.

Changes of government are rare in NSW. Labor last gained power in 1995, when Bob Carr led Labor to a slim majority. Neville Wran’s first victory in 1976 was also narrow. While the Labor majority may be slim, there’s a much larger crossbench than in past elections, and the overall progressive vote is much larger.

In the end this election, has turned out to be much more decisive than expected.

APOS PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS

Exorcism and prayer used to fight crime and cartels, Colombia general says

Story by CBSNews • Today

Colombia's chief of police said he and other officers have used exorcism and prayer to tackle crime and the country's most powerful criminals, including drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar.

Sitting in his office surrounded by crucifixes, effigies of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic symbols, General Henry Sanabria told local media on Saturday that these religious practices have helped the police throughout the last 50 years of armed conflict in the South American country.

As examples, he recalled police operations in which Escobar (in 1993), FARC guerrilla leader Alfonso Cano (2011) and his military chief known as "Mono Jojoy" (2010) were killed.

"The existence of the devil is certain. I have seen him. I have felt him," Sanabria said in an interview with Semana magazine, making the sign of the cross at every mention of the devil.

He told the magazine that recently a small group of unarmed police officers was surrounded by hundreds of violent protesters. Sanabria said that he arrived at the scene and pulled out a crucifix.

"They picked up everything and left," Sanabria said. "The policemen looked at me. They didn't dare ask me what had happened."

Sanabria claimed criminals use witchcraft, and said in one operation a police officer had been able to kill one of them by "praying while shooting."

His statements have sparked fierce debates on social media in Colombia, a secular country with Catholic traditions.

President Gustavo Petro did not express concern.

"We know the beliefs of the general, but we try to make sure that these beliefs do not affect the rules, it is as simple as that," he said. "I think he has respected them, as far as we know."

Previous statements by the police chief have also caused controversy.

Sanabria has spoken against abortion, which is legal in Colombia until the 24th week of pregnancy, and the use of condoms, which he has called an "abortive method."

Last October, he described Halloween as a "satanic" holiday and wrote a tweet about Women's Day on March 8 that was accused of being sexist.

"A woman's charm makes her husband happy and if she is reasonable, she makes it last. A discreet woman is a gift from the Lord," he wrote.


Colombian police director, General Henry Sanabria speaks during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia a day after his motorcade vehicle was attacked during an anti-government protest, on October 24, 2022. / Credit: Sebastian Barros/NurPhoto via Getty Images© Provided by CBS News

In recent days, Colombia has also employed more traditional methods to tackle crime and drug trafficking. Earlier this month, the country's navy intercepted two so-called "narco subs" -- semi-submersible vessels carrying large hauls of cocaine. One of the vessels also had two dead bodies on board.

Tesla faces new race bias trial from employee who had $137 million verdict cut

Story by By Daniel Wiessner • Today


FILE PHOTO: Tesla's primary vehicle factory in Fremont© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - A trial kicks off in San Francisco federal court on Monday to determine how much money Tesla Inc must pay to a Black elevator operator who a jury determined was subjected to severe racial harassment while working at the electric auto maker's flagship assembly plant.

The trial is scheduled to last five days. Last year, a judge slashed the $137 million verdict that the jury awarded in 2021 to plaintiff Owen Diaz, one of the largest ever in a U.S. workplace discrimination case. Diaz's lawyers rejected the lower payout and opted for a new trial on damages.

After the 2021 trial, U.S. District Judge William Orrick agreed with a jury that Tesla was liable for race discrimination but cut the verdict to $15 million. Orrick is also presiding over this week's trial, and has barred both sides from presenting new evidence or calling new witnesses.

As at the last trial, Diaz and several employees and managers at the Fremont, California plant are expected to testify.

In his 2017 lawsuit, Diaz accused Tesla of failing to act when he complained to managers that employees at the factory frequently used racist slurs and scrawled swastikas, racist caricatures and epithets on walls and workstations.

Diaz sued Tesla for causing him emotional distress under a California law prohibiting employers from failing to prevent hostile work environments based on race and other protected traits.

The jury in 2021 awarded Diaz nearly $7 million in compensatory damages for emotional distress, and $130 million in punitive damages, designed to punish unlawful conduct and deter it in the future.

Orrick last year reduced the compensatory damages to $1.5 million and the punitive damages to $13.5 million. He said that sum acknowledged the pervasive harassment Diaz faced while reflecting that he had worked at the factory for only nine months and had not alleged any physical injury or illness.

Employment discrimination cases rarely yield verdicts of more than $1 million, let alone nine-figure sums. The U.S. Supreme Court has said punitive damages typically should be no more than 10 times compensatory damages.

Lawrence Organ, a lawyer for Diaz, said he hoped the new jury would return a larger verdict than the $15 million award offered by Orrick and convince the judge higher damages are warranted.

"Tesla is focused on trying to get that number to zero," Organ said, "but that's a very cynical view to have a Black man racially harassed and suggest that is not worth a lot of money."

Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination, and its lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. The company had urged Orrick to reduce the original jury award to no more than $600,000.

Tesla also faces claims of tolerating widespread race bias at the Fremont plant in a class action in California state court and a separate lawsuit by the state's civil rights watchdog making similar allegations. Both cases are still in early stages.

The outcome of Diaz's trial will not directly affect those lawsuits or other court cases, but could encourage workers to file new lawsuits against the company as it battles mounting challenges to its dominance of the electric car market.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and David Gregorio)

Anti-Giga Berlin Protesters Vandalize Tesla Store In Germany

Story by Ben O'Hare • Saturday, March 25,2023

tesla-store-vandalized© InsideEVs
Protesters used paint bombs and posters to voice their anger against Tesla's latest Gigafactory.

Anumber of anti-Giga Berlin protesters attacked a Tesla store in central Berlin earlier this week. The motive for the protest was apparently Giga Berlin’s high water consumption levels. The destruction of a local forest to make way for Giga Berlin was seemingly another reason.

Protesters threw paint bombs against the exterior of the store and also stuck posters with anti-Tesla messages on its walls. One of the posters read "Driving For A Dead Planet" - a jibe at the environmental cost of producing a lithium-ion BEV.

The protesters demanded increased public transport funding. As opposed to backing Tesla, they called for the German government to instead offer "well-developed and free public transport for everyone in Berlin and Brandenburg". They also issued the following statement (via Teslarati):

“The repeated environmental violations of the US corporation during the construction and expansion of the gigafactory in #Grünheide and the robbing of valuable #Wasser |s in our region are criminal… Neo-colonialism during #Lithium mining in the Atacama Desert in #Chile destroys the livelihoods of the people in the assisted areas. No more liter of water for Tesla!”

Related video: Tesla's building a new factory in Mexico (Reuters)

Cover Video Tesla to Build Assembly Plant in Mexico
1:24

WION Tesla to invest $3.6 BN in Nevada for two new factories
1:29

Tesla Roadster Batteries Are Failing, Revealing End Of Life Symptoms

Tesla Recalls 2,649 Model S In China: EVs Were Imported From US

Source: Teslarati SEZ:

Giga Berlin has been in operation since March 2022 and currently produces over 4,000 Model Y crossovers per week. As car factories go, it's relatively sustainable with a lot of its power coming from solar and wind energy. It also doesn't use that much water given its ginormous size, despite what the Berlin protesters are claiming.

Moreover, a recent report claimed Tesla would require no extra water when Giga Berlin production doubles. The report claims the automaker will be able to use the same water consumption it currently does when it's making one million EVs per annum.

IF YOU BELIEVE THIS I HAVE A BRIDGE TO SELL YOU

Netanyahu agrees to pause judicial overhaul plans following widespread unrest in Israel

Story by Patrick Smith and Josh Lederman • 2h ago

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Monday evening to pause a divisive plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system until the next parliament session, according to a statement from one of the coalition partner parties, following widespread unrest in Israel.

Israel had been paralyzed Monday after hundreds of thousands of people stopped working to protest the proposal.

It followed unrest Sunday night after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who became the first member of his Likud Party to speak out against the proposed changes. Gallant had warned that divisions over the plans threatened Israel’s security.

Tens of thousands protested in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators were sprayed with water cannons. Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem also saw unrest. At one point, crowds in Jerusalem gathered outside Netanyahu’s home and broke through a security cordon, Reuters reported.

The proposal by Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition in January would threaten the independence of the Supreme Court and limit judges’ powers, according to critics. It has faced stiff opposition, with Israelis regularly taking to the streets to demonstrate.

On Monday, Israel’s largest trade union called for a general strike that halted everything from medical services to flights to meals served by McDonald's restaurants.

Large crowds of protesters and counter-protesters gathered Monday in the shadow of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, many waving Israeli flags. Some chanted in megaphones or banged on drums.

Leah Basa, 23, said she felt Netanyahu's plan would lead to the "downfall of democracy."

"I'm protesting the reform which is going to get rid of the checks and balances and get rid of the separation of powers," she said, adding, "I think that it is causing so many rips in society. No matter which side wins, nobody is going to win in the end because whether the reform passes or doesn't both sides just hate each other so much."

Salome Dunaevsky, 57, said she felt Netanyahu's plan would lead to chaos.

"It gives total power, almost total power, to the politicians," she said. "It means that there is no rule. You can do whatever."

Israel’s diplomatic staff were among those on strike Monday on the advice of their trade union, one diplomat who was not authorized to brief the media told NBC News. Israel’s embassies in Washington and around the world shut as a result and some diplomats replaced their social media profile pictures with the Israeli flag.

Netanyahu appealed for calm in the afternoon on social media as thousands flooded the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, waving Israeli flags and placards.

“I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brothers,” he said on Twitter.



Israel judicial reform protests (Ohad Zwigenberg / AP)© Provided by NBC News

Peter Lerner, the head of international relations at Histadrut, the Israeli trade union umbrella group representing some 700,000 workers, tweeted a video of cheering activists. He said the group’s chairman, Arnon Bar-David, had just told the meeting: “We are stopping the legal revolution.”


“This is the time that together we bring Israel back to sanity and to the right path. This is the time that we together say ‘enough’ and it doesn’t matter if we are right or left,” Histadrut said in a statement.

The unrest brought many daily operations to a halt. Israel's airport authority confirmed just before 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) that all departing flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport would be grounded.

Two of Israel’s main seaports, Haifa and Ashdod, said in separate statements seen by Reuters that they would shut down in support of the general strike.

Big brands are taking part in the protest: McDonald's said it would begin closing its restaurants across the country from midday (5 a.m. ET) before a full national closure from 2 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).

Israel’s leading universities will also be closed Monday in protest against both Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan and Gallant’s firing.

“We, the presidents and rectors of the research universities in Israel, express deep concern about the division and polarization in Israeli society and processes that could lead to a real damage to the national strength and stability of the State of Israel,” they said in a statement. Netanyahu’s planned changes could lead to a “brain drain” in Israel and discourage international students, the statement added.

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV released Monday, Netanyahu defended his policy and said he was confident the movement to overturn the new law would not last.

“People will see in the end that Israel was a democracy, is a democracy and will be even a stronger democracy after this democratic reform,” he said.

He argued that the changes — which allow the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, to overrule almost all Supreme Court decisions and appoint judges — were necessary to curtail the increased power of the judiciary.

Critics who call the move autocratic “had not read the bill,” he said.

Netanyahu was in London on Friday to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.


Tens of thousands of Israelis have poured into the streets across the country in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan. (Oren Ziv / AP)© Oren Ziv

Some of the prime minister's closest allies appeared intent on making sure the legislation passed.

"Under no circumstances should the reform to fix the justice system and strengthen Israeli democracy be stopped," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. In a video statement he added that to ditch the judiciary plan would mean submitting "to violence, anarchy and wild strikes."

Smotrich, who has a history of making controversial remarks and last week said there was no such thing as a Palestinian people, said he would attend a pro-government protest in Jerusalem later on Monday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was among those calling for the changes to be halted.

“The entire nation is rapt with deep worry. Our security, economy, society — all are under threat,” he said in a statement Monday.

Israel’s consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir, announced Sunday night he would resign after 18 months in the job, over the judicial changes and the defense minister’s firing.

International pressure was also growing over Netanyahu’s planned overhaul.

The White House released a statement from the National Security Council on Sunday night that said the most recent protests “further underscore the urgent need for compromise.”

“As the president recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu, democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” it said.

Patrick Smith reported from London. Ali Zelenko reported from Jerusalem.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Netanyahu ally agrees to delay Israeli judicial overhaul amid mass protests

Story by Laura Kelly • 

A key ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday agreed to delay plans to push through a controversial judicial overhaul that has drawn unprecedented public, government and military opposition and raised alarm from the U.S.


Netanyahu ally agrees to delay Israeli judicial overhaul amid mass protests© Provided by The Hill

Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir has agreed to delay until May discussions surrounding the judicial reforms, his political party Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, said in a statement, the Times of Israel reported.

The move comes amid pointed warnings from the U.S. to Netanyahu to pursue compromise with opposition lawmakers around the judicial reforms, which critics warn would destroy the bedrock of Israel’s democracy by stripping the independent oversight of the judicial branch.

“We’ve been very clear privately with Israeli leaders, as well as publicly, with our concerns over developments in the last 48 hours,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday morning, “and again, strongly urge Israeli leaders to compromise here.”

The judicial reforms, which are said to include allowing the government to overrule Supreme Court decisions and have greater control over appointing judges to the bench, have drawn unprecedented opposition. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis participating in weeks of protests, prompting commitments of refusals among some of Israel’s most elite military units and, on Monday, triggering a general strike among government workers.

President Biden has warned directly to Netanyahu that the judicial reforms risked threatening the “shared values” of the U.S. and Israel relationship and urged the Israeli leader to pursue compromise with the opposition.

“It really does come from a place…of supporting the very idea of checks and balances and the idea of consensus support. That’s where the President’s main concerns come from,” Kirby told reporters.

U.S. lawmakers have also expressed deep concern that the judicial overhaul is a crisis for Israel’s democracy.

Israel judicial overhaul plans delayed amid huge protests, says Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party

Story by Amir Tal • 

Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plans to weaken Israel’s judiciary will be put on hold after widespread strikes and protests drove the country to a standstill, the party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced Monday.

CNN  Watch protesters flood Tel Aviv highway to protest Netanyahu View on Watch

Duration 1:00

The legislation will be paused until the next legislative term, after the Passover recess in April, Gvir’s Jewish Power party said in a statement.

Netanyahu himself has not commented on a delay. A nationwide strike on Monday saw workers in virtually every major sector walk out, and protesters clogged streets and rammed city centers across Israel, demanding an end to the plan.

The original proposals would have amounted to the most sweeping overhaul of the Israeli legal system since the country’s founding. The most significant changes would allow a simple majority in the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court rulings; the Netanyahu government also sought to change the way judges are selected, and remove government ministries’ independent legal advisers, whose opinions are binding.

But months of sustained protests over the plans drew global attention and rocked the country. The political crisis deepened on Sunday when Netanyahu’s office announced the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a one-line statement, after he became the first member of the cabinet to call for a pause to the controversial plans.

In the hours that followed, Israeli society ground to a halt as anger at the bill mounted. Netanyahu was also condemned by his opponents and a host of former Israeli prime ministers.

“We’ve never been closer to falling apart. Our national security is at risk, our economy is crumbling, our foreign relations are at their lowest point ever, we don’t know what to say to our children about their future in this country. We have been taken hostage by a bunch of extremists with no brakes and no boundaries,” former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said at the Knesset.

As he fought to push ahead with his effort last week, Netanyahu’s government also passed a law making it harder to oust prime ministers that was condemned by critics as a self-preservation tactic.

By a 61-to-47 final vote, the Knesset approved the bill that states that only the prime minister himself or the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the leader unfit. The cabinet vote would then need to be ratified by a super majority in the parliament.

Netanyahu, who is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to appear in court as a defendant, is on trial for charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.

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Israeli unions launch strike, upping pressure on Netanyahu

The Canadian Press
Mon, March 27, 2023 



TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on Monday, threatening to paralyze the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel's largest trade union group called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. Local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also walk off the job.

The growing resistance to Netanyahu's plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at the prime minister's decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. Chanting “the country is on fire,” they lit bonfires on Tel Aviv's main highway, closing the thoroughfare and many others throughout the country for hours.

Thousands of protesters gathered Monday outside the Knesset, or parliament, to keep up the pressure.

The overhaul — driven by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies in Israel's most right-wing government ever — has plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises. It has sparked sustained protests that have galvanized nearly all sectors of society, including its military, where reservists have increasingly come out publicly to say they will not serve a country veering toward autocracy.

Israel's Palestinian citizens, however, have largely sat out the protests. Many say Israel’s democracy is tarnished by its military rule over their brethren in the West Bank and the discrimination they themselves face.

The turmoil has magnified longstanding and intractable differences over Israel's character that have riven it since its establishment. The protesters say they are fighting for the very soul of the nation, saying the overhaul will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and directly challenge its democratic ideals.

The government has labelled them anarchists out to topple a democratically elected leadership and says the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

At the center of the crisis is Netanyahu himself, Israel's longest serving leader, and questions about the lengths he may be willing to go to maintain his grip on power, even as he battles charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. He denies wrongdoing.

The firing of his defense minister at a time of heightened security threats in the West Bank and elsewhere, appeared to be a last straw for many, including apparently the Histadrut, the country's largest trade union umbrella group, which had sat out the monthslong protests before the defense minister’s firing.

“Where are we leading our beloved Israel? To the abyss,” Arnon Bar-David, the group's head, said in a rousing speech to applause. “Today we are stopping everyone's descent toward the abyss.”

On Monday, as the embers of the highway bonfires were cleared, Israel's ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, called again for an immediate halt to the overhaul.

“The entire nation is rapt with deep worry. Our security, economy, society — all are under threat,” he said. “Wake up now!”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the crisis was driving Israel to the brink.

“We’ve never been closer to falling apart. Our national security is at risk, our economy is crumbling, our foreign relations are at their lowest point ever, we don’t know what to say to our children about their future in this country,” Lapid said. “We have been taken hostage by a bunch of extremists with no brakes and no boundaries.”

It was unclear if the threats posed by the strikes to Israel's economy, which is already on shaky ground, would prompt Netanyahu to halt the overhaul. Israeli media reported that a lawyer representing the prime minister in his corruption trial threatened to quit if the overhaul was not halted.

The developments were being watched in Washington, which is closely allied with Israel yet has been uneasy with Netanyahu and the far-right elements of his government. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was “deeply concerned" by the developments in Israel, "which further underscore the urgent need for compromise.”

“Democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Watson said in a statement.

Netanyahu had reportedly spent the night in consultations and was set to speak to the nation, but later delayed his speech. Some members of Netanyahu's Likud party said they would support the prime minister if he did heed calls to halt the overhaul.

The architect of the plan, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a popular party member, was long a holdout, promising he would resign if the overhaul was suspended. But on Monday, he said he would respect the prime minister's decision should he halt the legislation.

Still, Netanyahu's hard-line allies pressed him to continue on. “We must not halt the reform in the judicial system, and we must not give in to anarchy,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said.

Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to signal that the prime minister and his allies would barrel ahead. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military.

And Netanyahu’s government forged ahead with a centerpiece of the overhaul — a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. A parliamentary committee approved the legislation on Monday for a final vote, which could come this week.

The government also seeks to pass laws that would would grant the Knesset the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.

A separate law that would circumvent a Supreme Court ruling to allow a key coalition ally to serve as minister was delayed following a request from that party's leader.

Netanyahu returned to power late last year after a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years. The elections were all a referendum on Netanyahu's fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.

___

Associated Press journalists Laurie Kellman in Tel Aviv and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press

Israeli president urges immediate stop to judicial reforms as protests flare

AFP
Mon, March 27, 2023 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday called for an immediate halt to the government's controversial judicial reforms, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister for similar demands.

Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial post, made the call following spontaneous demonstrations in Tel Aviv overnight in response to the minister's dismissal.

"For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of the necessary responsibility, I call on you to halt the legislative process immediately," Herzog said in a statement.

The plan to hand more control to politicians and diminish the role of the Supreme Court has ignited months of protests and been questioned by Israel's top allies including the United States, which expressed concern Sunday.

Netanyahu's hard-right government argues the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.

Yoav Galant, the former defence minister and staunch ally of Netanyahu, earlier broke ranks and called for a halt to the reforms -- with lawmakers scheduled to vote this week on a central part of the proposals, which would change the way judges are appointed.

"The growing social rift has made its way into the (army) and security agencies," said Galant, a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party. "It is a clear, immediate and tangible threat to Israel's security.

"I am committed to Likud values... and placing the State of Israel above all... but major changes on the national level must be made through deliberations and dialogue," he added, calling for a halt to the protests.

- 'Deep worry' -

On Sunday, moments after Netanyahu sacked Galant, demonstrators seized a central highway cutting through the coastal city of Tel Aviv, blocking traffic and burning tyres.

Some threw metal barricades at mounted offices while police deployed water cannon.

The large crowd waved national flags, blew airhorns and chanted in Hebrew: "Israel is not a dictatorship" and "No to a fascist government!"

"Last night we witnessed very difficult scenes," Herzog said.

"The entire nation is rapt with deep worry," he added, in an appeal to the government. "Our security, economy, society — all are under threat."

After months of rallies against the reform, including a weekend demonstration that brought out an estimated 200,000 people in Tel Aviv, protesters in the city said it felt like "a sort of climax".

In Jerusalem, demonstrators gathered Sunday outside the prime minister's residence, while other rallies took place in the northern city of Haifa and Beer Sheva in the south.

Protesters have announced a "national paralysis week", including protests outside ministers' homes and parliament.

The United States said it was "deeply concerned" and called on Israeli leaders to reach a compromise.

The White House noted that President Joe Biden recently told Netanyahu that "democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship".

Galant, a former general, was named to his post in December as part of Netanyahu's coalition with extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox allies.

Two other Likud lawmakers have voiced support for Galant, raising questions over whether the government could count on a majority if it pushes ahead with a vote.

Adding to the political uncertainty, Israel's consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir, tendered his resignation Sunday over Netanyahu's "dangerous decision".

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that while the prime minister had sacked Galant, "he cannot fire reality and cannot fire the people of Israel who are standing up to the insanity of the coalition".

"The Prime Minister of Israel is a danger to the security of the State of Israel," Lapid added.

- 'Illegal' intervention -

A parliamentary committee has amended the draft law to make it more acceptable to opponents, but the opposition has ruled out backing any part of the reform package until all legislative steps are halted.

Netanyahu, in a televised address last week, vowed to "responsibly advance" the reforms and "end the rift" they have caused.

In response, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Friday accused Netanyahu of "illegal" public intervention on the process of adopting the judicial reforms.

Netanyahu is on trial over charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies.

His broadcast gave rise to contempt of court accusations filed with the Supreme Court by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, an anti-corruption campaign group.

The group's complaint alleges Netanyahu violated a court ruling that an accused prime minister does not have the right to act in a matter that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Israel Democracy Institute holds emergency conference in light of judicial reforms

Story by By JERUSALEM POST STAFF • 7h ago

An international emergency conference was held on Sunday morning at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) in Jerusalem and saw attendances and testimonies from officials, jurists and legal experts worldwide regarding the judicial reform.

Thousands march in protest of the judicial reform in Tel Aviv, March 23, 2023

© (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

Participants came from Hungary, Poland, India, Ireland, Canada and France, during which they discussed the future of Israel. Jurists at the conference warned that Israel can expect violations of human rights, a collapse of the economy and a silenced media should the judicial reforms continue.

Research showed that an automatic majority to the current coalition to select justices is nearly nonexistent in other democracies, while judicial reform advocates claim that the overhaul will bring the judicial selection process closer to that of other parliamentary systems.

Statements by the president of the Israel Democracy Institute

"It is important to emphasize that Israel is not unusual in the way judges are chosen as is customary today," said IDI president Yohanan Plesner. "We hear from the supporters of the 'reform' that they are only implementing a process for selecting judges that exist in other liberal democracies, but most of the references to methods in other countries, such as those made by the prime minister on Thursday when he mentioned Canada and the United States, are very misleading or completely wrong."

"We hear from the supporters of the 'reform' that they are only implementing a process for selecting judges that exist in other liberal democracies."Yohanan Plesner

"Recently, we find the need to remind Israelis how vulnerable our democracy is compared to any other democracy in the world. Israel actually has no checks and balances. We have no constitution, no bill of rights, no federal distribution of power and no presidential veto.


Judicial reform protestors block the road at HaKfar HaYarok youth village in Ramat Hasharon on March 9, 2023. (credit: Shai Koriansky)© Provided by The Jerusalem PostJudicial reform protestors block the road at HaKfar HaYarok youth village in Ramat Hasharon on March 9, 2023. (credit: Shai Koriansky)

"The only brake on the power of a political majority is the Supreme Court. Therefore, damage to the independence of the court, small or large, has a significant and unique effect on the democratic balance in Israel," he continued.

Statements by former justice ministers from abroad

"I am amazed by the incompetence and the bizarre move," said former Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter. "I understand the politics behind it, but I don't understand how intelligent people can deal with such an important issue in such a quick way and in such a short time.

Former Canadian Justice Minister and Attorney-General Irwin Kolter said: “There is absolutely no comparison to be made between the proposals being made in Israel and the system in Canada, any comparison is misleading - we do have a superseding clause, but it comes within the Canadian Bill of Rights, as part of the federal system, and Democratic rights. It is not the same as what is happening in Israel."

Mass protests erupt in Israel after Netanyahu fires minister who opposed judicial overhaul

Story by Hadas Gold • CNN

Massive crowds filled the streets of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv late Sunday night after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister over his opposition to a planned judicial overhaul.

Watch protesters flood Tel Aviv highway to protest Netanyahu

View on Watch  Duration 1:00

Waving Israeli flags and chanting “democratia,” protestors could be seen blocking streets and bridges, including the Ayalon Highway.

Protesters lit several fires on the main highway in Tel Aviv, their acrid, black smoke billowing into the sky, partly obscuring some of the city’s iconic skyscrapers. By around 2 a.m. local time in Tel Aviv, protests had thinned out but live pictures from the scene showed security forces firing water cannons on those still gathered.

Israel’s political crisis deepened on Sunday when Netanyahu’s office announced the removal of Yoav Gallant in a one-line statement, after he became the first member of the cabinet to call for a pause to controversial plans to overhaul the country’s court system.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to remove Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from his post,” the statement read.


Protesters clash with the police during a rally against the Israeli government's judicial reform in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 27. - Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images

Gallant argued for a halt to the judicial reforms in a speech Saturday night, when Netanyahu was out of the country on an official visit to the United Kingdom. Some military reservists have pledged to pull out of their service in opposition to the plans, which critics say would undermine the independence of the judiciary. Gallant said pressing ahead with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security.

His ouster and the mass protests that followed prompted a string of prominent officials to call for a halt to the judicial reform process.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called on Netanyahu and his government to immediately pause the plans, saying “the eyes of the whole world are on you.”

“Deep concern hovers over the entire nation. Security, economy, society – everyone is threatened,” Herzog said in the statement.

“The eyes of all the people of Israel are on you. The eyes of all the Jewish people are on you. The eyes of the whole world are on you. For the sake of the unity of Israelis, for the sake of committed responsibility I call on you to halt the legislative procedure immediately.”

As protesters gathered into the early hours of Monday, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar and Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli – all members of Netanyahu’s Likud party – also suggested that Netanyahu should stop the legislation.

Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, suggested Netanyahu should “stop and recalculate” his overhaul plan, warning it has brought the country to the brink of civil war.

“The reform is necessary and we will do it – but not at the cost of a civil war,” he said.


Former Israelie defense minsiter Yoav Gallant. - Amir Cohen/Reuters

In his speech on Saturday, Gallant said the pause was needed “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest at the government plans.

Gallant reiterated that sentiment in a tweet on Sunday after his dismissal: “The security of the State of Israel has always been and will always remain the mission of my life.”

Israel’s former Prime Minister Yair Lapid called Gallant’s dismissal a “new low.” He wrote on Twitter that Netanyahu might be able to fire the minister but “cannot fire the people of Israel who are standing up to the insanity of the coalition.”



Thousands streamed into central Tel Aviv on Sunday night in

 support of the fired defense minister - Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

He added: “The Prime Minister of Israel is a danger to the security of the State of Israel.”

Israel’s Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, resigned in response to Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant. In his resignation letter, which he posted on Twitter, Zamir called Netanyahu’s move a “dangerous decision” and added that that he had “become increasingly concerned with the policies of the new government, and in particular, the judicial reform it is leading.”

“I believe that this reform undermines the very foundation of our democratic system and threatens the rule of law in our country,” he wrote.

Universities in Israel will go on strike starting Monday, they announced, and the country’s largest labor union and business leaders said they would hold a press conference on Monday morning. The labor union, Histadrut, said its press conference with business leaders scheduled for 11 a.m. (4 a.m. ET) would be dramatic.

A contentious judicial overhaul

Under the proposals, the government would have control over the appointment of judges, and parliament would gain the power to override Supreme Court decisions.

The government argues the changes are essential to rein in the Supreme Court, which they see as insular, elitist, and no longer representative of the Israeli people. Opponents say the plans threaten the foundations of Israeli democracy.

The military reservists’ protest is seen as a particular worry for Israel’s government, as they are regularly called up to train and serve, even in peacetime.


Protesters lit fires on a Tel Aviv highway Sunday - Nir Elias/Reuters

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had called on Netanyahu to fire Gallant after his speech on Saturday. “Gallant gave in tonight to blackmail and threats from all those anarchists who call for resistance and use the [Israel Defense Forces] as a bargaining tool,” Gvir tweeted.

“Gallant was elected by the votes of right-wing voters and in practice promotes a left-wing agenda. At the moment of truth he collapsed under the pressure of the media and the protesters. I call on the Prime Minister to fire him immediately.”

Piling further pressure on Netanyahu, Israel’s High Court on Sunday gave him a week to a respond to a petition calling for him to be held in contempt of court.

The legal move by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel comes after the attorney general told Netanyahu he acted illegally and violated a court-imposed conflict of interest order by saying he would personally involve himself in the judicial overhaul.

Part of the bill – which effectively strips the courts of the power to declare a prime minister unfit for office – has already been pushed through.

Critics say Netanyahu is pushing through the changes because of his own ongoing corruption trial; Netanyahu denies this.

Netanyahu himself has given no indication he will back down. In a speech on Thursday he said he would address the concerns of “both sides,” but pledged to continue with the reform plans.

Likud lawmaker Danny Danon said it was too soon to know if there were enough rebels in the party to stop the legislation, telling CNN, “We will only know Monday,” when members of the party meet in the Knesset, or parliament.

Netanyahu and his allies control 64 seats in the 120-seat legislature, so in theory five Likud rebels could deprive the coalition of an absolute majority. But lawmakers can abstain or be absent, bringing down the number of votes a law needs in order to pass.

CNN’s Richard Allen Greene contributed to this story from Jerusalem, Irene Nasser reported from Hong Kong and Lauren Said-Moorhouse wrote from London.

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Netanyahu sacks defence minister, sparking mass protests

Protest against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing of the defense minister, in Jerusalem

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday sacked Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, triggering mass protests, a day after Gallant broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system.

As news of the dismissal spread, tens of thousands of protesters, many waving blue and white Israeli flags, took to the streets late at night across the country. Crowds gathered outside Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem, at one point breaching a security cordon.


Protest against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing of the defense minister, in Jerusalem© Thomson Reuters

Some three months since taking office, Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition has been plunged into crisis over the bitter divisions exposed by its flagship judicial overhaul plans.

"State security cannot be a card in the political game. Netanyahu crossed a red line tonight," opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz said in a joint statement.

They called on members of Netanyahu's Likud party not to have a hand in "the crushing of national security."

In announcing Gallant's dismissal, Netanyahu's office did not name a replacement nor give any other details. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided this evening to dismiss Defence Minister Yoav Gallant," it said.

Shortly afterward, Gallant, 64, wrote on Twitter: "The state of Israel’s security has always been and will always be my life's mission."



Protests against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing the defense minister, in Tel Aviv© Thomson Reuters

POLICE USE WATER CANNONS

Netanyahu made the decision to sack Gallant after the former navy admiral warned on Saturday that the overhaul plans risked "a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the state" and called for them to be halted.

"At this time, for the sake of our country, I am willing to take any risk and pay any price," Gallant said in his televised address.

Netanyahu acted in response on Sunday night as he was poised to ratify a central part of the overhaul package, a bill that would tighten political control over judicial appointments, handing the executive wider freedom to name judges to the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, President Isaac Herzog, the head of state who is supposed to remain above politics, warned that the country faced "disaster" unless a broader consensus could be reached on how to overhaul the judiciary.


But Netanyahu, on trial on corruption charges that he denies, has vowed to continue with a project he says is needed to rein in activist judges and restore the proper balance between an elected government and the judiciary.

As protesters poured into the streets, police used water cannons to push them back from Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, while in Tel Aviv, where hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets since the beginning of the year, protesters lighted a large bonfire on a main highway.

It was not immediately clear whether the protests would impact the government's tactics. At least three Likud ministers said publicly that it was time to reevaluate their strategy and they would support halting the legislation if Netanyahu decided to do so. The head of the parliamentary committee deciding on the legislation said discussions would continue on Monday.



Protests against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing the defense minister, in Tel Aviv© Thomson Reuters

The crisis came as Israel's security establishment has been bracing for potential violence in the coming weeks as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan overlaps with the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter celebration.

Over the past year, Israeli forces have been conducting nearly daily raids in the occupied West Bank, killing more than 250 Palestinian fighters and civilians, while more than 40 Israelis and foreigners have been killed by Palestinian attackers.



Protests against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing the defense minister, in Tel Aviv© Thomson Reuters

DIPLOMAT RESIGNS

Gallant on Saturday became the most senior member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party to say he would not support the judicial overhaul, saying protests that have included growing numbers of military reservists were also affecting regular forces and undermining national security.



Protests against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing the defense minister, in Tel Aviv© Thomson Reuters

In recent weeks senior Finance Ministry officials have warned of an economic backlash and business leaders have sounded the alarm for their companies' future.



Protest against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing of the defense minister, in Jerusalem© Thomson Reuters

Adding to the pressure, the head of the Histadrut labour federation, the umbrella organisation for hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, said he was "astonished" by Gallant's removal and promised a "dramatic" announcement on Monday.

Israel's consul-general in New York said he was resigning over the dismissal. Israel's research universities announced they would stop holding classes due to the legislative push, calling for its immediate freeze.

Some of Netanyahu's hard-right coalition partners had called for Gallant to be sacked, but a number of other Likud lawmakers have backed his call for a halt to the reforms.

The turmoil comes at a key moment in the passage of the legislation with a bill giving the executive more control over the appointment of judges expected to be brought for ratification this week in the Knesset, where Netanyahu and his allies control 64 out of 120 seats.

But how - or even whether - that as yet-unscheduled vote will proceed has been thrown into question by the wave of protest sparked by Gallant's removal and the deepening splits within the coalition.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Ronen Zvulun and Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Rami Amichay in Tel Aviv; Writing by James Mackenzie, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Cynthia Osterman)

Tens of thousands of Israelis protest judicial overhaul
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Protest against Israel's judicial overhaul and dismissing of the defense minister, in Jerusalem

Netanyahu’s retreat will be like Napoleon’s from Russia

Story by By AMOTZ ASA-EL • Friday

Retreat stinks. Looking ahead, the retreater sees his destination melt like ice in the sun; looking back, the road that seemed so short when it led to the battlefield now seems to him as long as a continent; looking sideways, he imagines snipers, land mines and disease; and looking inwards, he sniffs disloyalty, despair and defeat.


PEOPLE HOLD Israeli flags next to a banner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in Tel Aviv last week against the judicial overhaul.

© (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)

This is not to say that all retreats end badly. The British retreat from Dunkirk was a success, having retrieved a large corpus from a war zone with minimum casualties, and thus salvaged much of the army that would later move to the offensive and win.

Such was also George Washington’s retreat from Long Island through Brooklyn and New Jersey to Pennsylvania, a maneuver which surprised the British invaders, and in due course enabled the Continental Army to turn the war’s tide.

The common denominator among such retreats is that their commanders did not start the wars they won. Someone else waged war, and retreat was merely the defender’s response before counterattacking, the way Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov did in the face of Napoleon’s assault.

Such are the glorious retreats of the defenders. The attackers’ retreats, by contrast, are inglorious, as they underscore machismo’s debacle, fantasy’s futility, and the frivolity of the choice to go to war. That is what happened, for instance, with Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in 1812, with Nasser’s retreat from Sinai in 1967, and with the Argentine junta’s retreat from the Falkland Islands in 1982.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen gesturing at the Knesset, on July 26, 2021.

 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Now, what those fiascoes constituted militarily awaits Benjamin Netanyahu politically as his retreat from the biggest political mistake of his career begins to unfold.

Netanyahu's retreat begins

YES, THE coalition’s decision on Monday to temporarily shrink the judicial overhaul was a political nonstarter and a publicity ploy.

The decision, to make do for now with the government’s appointment of two Supreme Court justices and delay the rest of the legislative package for later, created none of the impression its authors hoped to create – namely, that they are retreating.

Related video: Israel passes law shielding Netanyahu from being removed as prime minister    (NBC News)  Duration 2:28   View on Watch

It took no Sherlock Holmes to detect the deceit. Even one justice’s appointment by the ruling coalition is one too many, let alone the appointment of the court’s president. The whole idea is to prevent such political tinkering, as our system lacks the constitution and bicameral legislature that form other democracies’ checks and balances.

Evidently, the man behind this mock retreat still thinks the people are the same idiots he habitually fooled over the years with ease and impunity and can thus be fooled again. That is why the stubbornness and lying with which he and his operation responded to the protest movement are still intact.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich thus repeated on Tuesday the lie that under the current system, “the judges appoint each other.” As explained here previously, the Judges Selection Committee includes three judges, four politicians and two lawyers, meaning the judges are a minority, and that’s beside the fact that a Supreme Court justice’s appointment requires the approval of seven of the committee’s nine members.

“I expect the Chief of General Staff and the heads of the security forces to fight firmly the [service] refusal [of reservist fighter pilots].”Benjamin Netanyahu

The same spirit of deceit inspired Netanyahu’s televised demand on Sunday, before the cabinet’s weekly meeting: “I expect the Chief of General Staff and the heads of the security forces to fight firmly the [service] refusal [of reservist fighter pilots].” Netanyahu thus conveniently ignored the fact that these pilots are volunteers who give the Air Force one day of their working week, year after year. Instead, just like he and his felonious police minister dare call the protesters “anarchists,” Netanyahu now made it sound as if the reservist pilots are enlisted servicemen evading service.

And so, while ignoring the pilots’ grievance – namely, his threat to Israeli democracy – Netanyahu made it seem as if the problem the airmen pose is not political but disciplinary, and thus not his business but IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi’s. Talk about shifting blame.

Well, despite the judicial revolutionaries’ continued lying and hoodwinking, this week’s events mean that Netanyahu now understands what he has uncorked and is desperately seeking a way to undo what he has done. Yes, he thought he could return the genie to the bottle by faking a retreat, but what he has just begun is a real retreat, an inglorious retreat from a Napoleonic misadventure’s inevitable collapse.

Netanyahu miscalculated Middle Israel's patriotism and sense of abuse

ALL INGLORIOUS retreats begin with miscalculation. Napoleon miscalculated the Russian winter, Nasser miscalculated Israel’s resolve to survive, and Argentina’s generalissimos miscalculated Britain’s will to fight. Netanyahu miscalculated Middle Israel’s patriotism, bellicosity and sense of abuse.

As this column warned him a month before the judiciary revolution’s announcement (“The Middle Israeli revolt,” December 9, 2022), Netanyahu emerged from his electoral victory intoxicated, convinced he and his allies’ abuse of Middle Israel can be redoubled at no cost, not realizing they are provoking its revolt. Now, faced with multitudes flooding the streets; staring at the blue-and-white forestations that the flags they carry form; and hearing the rebukes of entrepreneurs, economists, industrialists, rabbis, literati, former heads of the Mossad, Shin Bet, Rafael, the Atomic Energy Committee and a battery of retired generals including ten air-force commanders, from Amikam Norkin, 56, to Dan Tolkowsky, 102, Bibi knows that the revolt is here.

And as happened in other inglorious retreats, the failing offensive’s ranks are beginning to fray. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatens to resign; Economy Minister Nir Barkat vows to obey the court should it override the reform; and Likud MKs Eli Dallal and David Bitan call to halt the legislation and replace the judicial revolution’s unilateralism with dialogue.

Evidently, when Netanyahu besmirches patriotic pilots who risk their lives behind enemy lines while he is literally and visibly flanked by ultra-Orthodox ministers who did not serve in the army one hour, such Likudniks understand that they have been hijacked, that their leader has lost his cool, judgment and way, and that he and they now face only one choice: retreat.

www.MiddleIsrael.net
The writer, a Hartman Institute fellow, is the author of the bestselling Mitzad Ha’ivelet Ha’yehudi (The Jewish March of Folly, Yediot Sefarim, 2019), a revisionist history of the Jewish people’s political leadership.