Who’s driving Israel’s political crisis?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2023
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A political crisis has swept Israel. Amid massive protests, lawmakers in parliament voted to limit the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government actions, weakening the judiciary. Who’s driving it?
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On Monday, Israel’s lawmakers voted to limit the Supreme Court’s ability to block government actions. Tens of thousands of people marched in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after the vote, with protesters worrying about the step back from democracy after the important check on executive power was voted out by a far-right coalition.
Jerusalem Bureau Chief Steve Hendrix explains Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's uncertain role in the judicial overhaul, the history of the far right in Israel, and how this reform prompted thousands of Israelis to take to the streets.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For weeks, massive protests have erupted across Israel. |
| 0:12.0 | Protesters are chanting democracy. |
| 0:16.1 | On Monday, Israel's parliament passed a law that limits the Supreme Court's ability |
| 0:20.5 | to strike down certain government policies. |
| 0:22.7 | It's a move that many Israelis see as a blow against democracy. |
| 0:26.8 | It's one of the most contentious times domestically that Israel has ever experienced. |
| 0:33.3 | That's Steve Hendrix, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the Washington Post. |
| 0:37.1 | The opposition proposed literally thousands of amendments sort of trying to stop this train. |
| 0:43.9 | But the coalition brushed past all that. |
| 0:46.3 | They finally got the bill to its final reading in the parliament yesterday |
| 0:51.5 | after a very rancorous session in which opposition members were screaming shame, shame. |
| 1:04.5 | They began the final vote and the opposition all walked out. |
| 1:07.3 | So the final passage was just those 64 votes for the coalition and zero votes from anyone else. |
| 1:15.5 | For a country without a constitution, it might be in the middle of a constitutional crisis. |
| 1:21.5 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:25.1 | I'm Will Oremus, I'm a tech writer for the Post and I'm your guest host today. |
| 1:29.5 | It's Wednesday, July 26th. |
| 1:32.1 | Today on the show, what has led to the historic protests that are divided Israel? |
| 1:36.9 | And what's next for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? |
| 1:42.1 | Steve, in recent months, we've seen widespread protests across Israel. |
| 1:51.1 | Some of the largest protests in the country's history. |
| 1:53.7 | What's happening in the country right now? |
... |
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