Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prominent U.S. lawyer Alan Dershowitz, long a staunch defender of Israel’s policies on the international stage, said Sunday he cannot defend sweeping judicial reforms planned by Israel’s new government.

The proposals call for an overhaul aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, including by allowing lawmakers to pass laws that the Supreme Court has struck down. The reforms would give politicians more power over how judges are chosen and limit the independence of government legal advisers, among other steps.

07 Jan 2023; MEMO: Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Aviv Kochavi has warned of having two heads of the Israeli military in light of having a junior minister in the defence minister's office, Israeli media has reported.

07 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israeli media reported on Friday that the US Department of Defense and intelligence authorities are preventing Israeli pilots from flying F-35 fighter jets, fearing information technology leaks.

Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post said that this came as a result of the US increasing focus on information security and safeguarding its interests.

06 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Justice Minister announced on Wednesday a plan that will undermine the authority of the country's judicial system, reported The Times of Israel.

Israeli Justice Minister and Likud member Yariv Levin's plan would allow the far-right government to overrule decisions by the Supreme Court and pass it into law with a 61-MK majority.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Khaled Shurrab had been waiting more than half his life to get out of Gaza.

The 27-year-old had never left the coastal enclave, which has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since 2007. He couldn’t find a job — the territory’s youth unemployment rate is over 60%. Like a growing number of Gazans, he packed his life into a suitcase and eventually made it to Turkey, where he set out on a treacherous sea voyage to Greece last October. When his rickety boat went down, his body disappeared into the sea.

04 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Israeli Occupation Forces have observed an increase in suicide rates after 44 soldiers died last year, the highest number in five years, according to statistics published by the Israeli Army.

Most deaths were due to suicide, with at least 14 soldiers having taken their own lives in 2022, compared to 11 the year prior.

03 Jan 2023; MEMO: American Jewish leaders are right to be worried. As Benjamin Netanyahu peels away at the façade that has maintained support for the occupation state within liberal Jewish constituencies in the US and elsewhere, they are discovering that their democratic image of Israel is but a figment of their imagination. Any remaining doubt about Israel's identity was erased last week when Netanyahu declared that the preservation of Jewish supremacy will be state policy.

JERUSALEM (AP) — An ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister on Tuesday visited a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site for the first time since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government took office last week. The visit drew fierce condemnation from across the Muslim world and a strong rebuke from the United States.

02 Jan 2023; MEMO: The new Israeli government is preparing a package of sanctions against Palestinians, including the withdrawal of VIP cards granted to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, Quds Press reported on Sunday.

The planned Israel sanctions are a response the UN approval on Friday of a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice evaluate Israel's "annexation" policies and the "legal status of the occupation."

JERUSALEM, Jan 2 (NNN-INA) – The new Israeli government will soon abolish taxation on disposable plastic utensils, the Finance Ministry said yesterday, despite public health concerns.

This is one of the first two decisions taken by Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, after the new Israeli government was sworn in on Thursday. His other decision was to cancel the tax on high-sugar drinks.