Is Netanyahu's Government Heading in the Wrong Direction?

Open to Debate

Education, Society & Culture, News, Government, Politics

4.5 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since his 2022 re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced plans for a new judiciary reform, leading to large-scale public protests. Supporters say these changes will better balance the power between lawmakers and judges and bring Israel’s judiciary system closer to other countries. Others argue these reforms will undermine the judiciary branch’s independence and affect the country’s relationship with the U.S. and Palestinians. So we debate: Is Netanyahu’s Government Heading in the Wrong Direction? Arguing Yes: Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street and Executive Director of JStreetPac Arguing No: Caroline Glick, Former Senior Contributing and Chief Columnist for the Jerusalem Post and Senior Columnist for Maariv Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:31.0	Hi everybody and welcome to Open to Debate. I'm John Donban with a debate that revolves around a political führer that is currently unfolding in Israel.
0:48.0	You know, I spent a fair amount of time in Israel having lived there and covered the country as a journalist
0:53.0	and one thing that was true back during my day and pretty much any time during Israel's 75-year history.
0:59.0	There always seems to be some sort of crisis going on, military or economic or social.
1:05.0	The current crisis however is arguably unprecedented.
1:09.0	It's one that has brought week after week of truly massive protests.
1:13.0	They've been unprecedented in passion and size, measured in the hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the street usually at night.
1:20.0	A crisis seen by many to market true crossroads moment for Israel and whose resolution will stamp Israel as one kind of a country
1:28.0	or the other for a long time to come.
1:31.0	Now just a little bit of background to this moment, Israel's current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, represents an alliance of several parties from the right to the far right of Israel's political spectrum.
1:42.0	They have a slim majority in the parliament, the Kineset, 64 seats out of 120.
1:47.0	And back in January, the government proposed a set of reforms that will give whoever controls the Kineset, which namely would be themselves right now.
1:56.0	The power to overrule decisions made by Israel's Supreme Court and much more influence in appointing justices to the court.
2:04.0	So that sounds narrow and technical and in a certain sense it is, but that is what has brought people to the streets.
2:10.0	Most in opposition, but there have also been rallies in support as well.
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