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I’m writing to share J Street’s statements and news updates.
I hope you’ll check out, or continue making use of, our regularly updated dossier on the Netanyahu government. As always, you can find our Congressional briefing book, background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recordings of previous briefings and more at J Street’s Congressional Resource Page.
Feel free to reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Regev
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Regev (Rae) Ortal (she/her)
Senior Government Affairs Associate, J Street
mobile: (719) 301-8453 | [email protected]
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This week on j street
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| STATEMENT |
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J STREET CALLS FOR US ACTION TO DEFEND ISRAELI DEMOCRACY – NO TIME FOR ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’
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| RECORDING |
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J Street’s Emergency Briefing: ISRAELI DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS
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What we’re reading
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Israeli Knesset passes judicial overhaul bill despite mass protests, U.S. pressure
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| Israel’s parliament on Monday passed the Netanyahu coalition’s controversial bill that will significantly limit the Supreme Court’s ability to review government decisions, despite mass protests and pressure from the Biden administration to not rush the vote. It’s the first piece of legislation that is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul — a plan that has destabilized Israel’s economy, military and foreign relations… President Biden has also called for the Israeli government to come to a broad consensus on judicial reform instead of pushing the plan unilaterally. In a statement to Axios on Sunday, Biden urged Netanyahu not to rush the bill, saying he was highly concerned about the “divisive” legislation and its potential implications. The bill passed in its most extreme form 64-0, with the opposition boycotting the vote after no compromises were made. Thousands of Israelis rallied outside the Knesset building, with some chaining themselves to the gates and blocking roads in an attempt to prevent lawmakers from reaching the compound. President Isaac Herzog, who had warned Monday that the country faced “a national crisis,” attempted to get some kind of compromise between the government and the opposition, but the talks collapsed after Netanyahu refused to accept the opposition’s demand to pass a law that would suspend any further judicial overhaul legislation for a year. “It is impossible to reach any understanding that will preserve Israeli democracy with this government,” opposition leader Yair Lapid told reporters. “They want to dismantle the state. We have no way of continuing the dialogue with them. This is the most irresponsible government in the history of Israel.” |
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Israeli Supreme Court to review law that limits its power, setting up showdown with government
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| Israel’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it would hear appeals against a controversial new law that curbs its power, setting up a showdown with the government over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plans to weaken the judiciary. The court said it would debate the law in September but would not issue an injunction to block it before then… The court said it would hear challenges from seven groups who are seeking to throw out the law, including the Movement for Quality Government, whose chairman praised the announcement Wednesday… The court’s decision to take up the case brings Israel to the brink of a constitutional crisis, with judges considering whether to strike down legislation that was created to limit their power… Israel does not have a written constitution and is instead governed by a series of Basic Laws and previous court rulings, including the one that was amended on Monday. These laws were originally enacted by the Knesset with the view that they would form a formal constitution in the future – but that has not happened yet… The Supreme Court has never annulled a Basic Law, though it has previously set a precedent for the possibility of doing so… While the court’s review of the law may take the tension between the hardline government and the judiciary to a new level, Netanyahu’s government has indicated it will comply with its ruling. The mass protests that have engulfed Israel since the reforms were first announced in January are unlikely to stop now. |
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IDF Intel Warns Netanyahu of Israel’s ‘Historic Weakness’ Seen by Iran and Hezbollah, Report Says
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| The Israeli Defense Forces’ intelligence body has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the potential national security implications of the judicial overhaul legislation… According to the report, “the enemy perceives the summer of 2023 as a historic weak point for Israel.””While previous discussions focused on ‘tactical’ strikes for deterrence,” the report indicated, “the intelligence community is now concerned about significant vulnerabilities in Israel’s overall deterrence capabilities due to the ongoing crisis.” Before the Knesset approved the law to abolish the reasonableness standard, a letter was sent last week to Netanyahu, mentioning that Iran and Hezbollah view this as a historic opportunity to change the strategic situation in the region amid the crisis. Israel’s deterrence is seen as reliant on four “pillars” such as IDF strength, relations with the United States, the economy, and domestic unity. Iran and Hezbollah reportedly see the current crisis with the Biden administration as “very serious and influential in the long term.” Reuters reported that Iranian and Hamas officials recently discussed the internal crisis in Israel due to the judicial coup but decided not to interfere to avoid aiding Netanyahu… A Lebanese source aware of Hezbollah’s deployments told Reuters that even high-ranking officials within Hezbollah have closely examined the crisis in Israel and see it as a positive development from which they can potentially benefit in the future. |
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OPINION | Only Biden Can Save Israel Now
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| Dear President Biden: In October 1973, the armies of Egypt and Syria launched a surprise pincer attack on Israel. As the Israeli Army fell low on ammunition, your predecessor Richard Nixon ordered a massive airlift of weaponry that helped to save the only Jewish democracy from being destroyed from the outside. Fifty years later, Mr. President, this Jewish democracy urgently needs another airlift to save it from being destroyed from the inside. It needs an urgent resupply of hard truths — something only you can provide… Because Netanyahu is plowing ahead despite your urgings. Despite a warning from more than 1,100 Israeli Air Force pilots and technicians that they will not fly for a dictatorship. Despite an open letter signed by dozens of former top security officials, including former heads of the Israel Defense Forces, Mossad, Shin Bet and police beseeching the prime minister to stop. Despite Israel’s top business forum warning of “irreversible and destructive consequences on the Israeli economy.” Despite fears that this could eventually fracture unit cohesion in the base of the Israeli Army. And despite a remarkable, largely spontaneous five-day march by everyday Israelis from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the likes of which had never happened before… There is a huge difference between making the Israeli Supreme Court more politically and ethnically inclusive and making this Israeli government immune from its scrutiny — especially in a system in which the high court in Israel is the only real check on executive overreach. And the latter is what Netanyahu’s coalition is up to, and it is the latter that undermines not just our shared values with Israel but also our own strategic interests, which we are entitled — indeed we are required — to defend. |
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What Israel’s judicial overhaul means for Palestinians
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| Despite ongoing, widespread demonstrations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on Monday passed the first piece of legislation of a radical overhaul to Israel’s judiciary. The bill eliminates a doctrine within administrative law that currently empowers Israel’s High Court of Justice to strike down government decisions that don’t pass a reasonability standard… But if the new law is implemented, it will have destructive effects on Israelis and on Palestinians living in the occupied territories… It’s important to note that the High Court has been no reliable supporter of Palestinian rights. Legal and human rights experts told me that anti-Palestinian policies have been passed with no opposition from the judiciary. And even the anti-judicial overhaul protests have been more concerned with Israeli politics than the impact on Palestinians. But in some situations, the court has slowed or stopped Israeli government actions, and served as a check on the extreme right-wing government… To regain the prime ministership after a brief stint out of power, Netanyahu built his current coalition with extreme-right parties… The parties representing settlers in the parliament are pushing the country toward the further annexation of Palestinian land and, as they’ve said in their own words, the expulsion or transfer of Palestinians out of the occupied West Bank. This week’s change to the judiciary will remove one potential obstacle, albeit a small one, in the way of achieving those aims. The settlers are a patient political movement, putting in building blocks for a vision of a transformed Israel society. |
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Biden sends Sullivan to Saudi Arabia in possible push for major Israel deal
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| White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two U.S. sources told Axios and the White House confirmed. Sullivan’s trip is aimed at continuing the talks over a possible deal on upgrading U.S.-Saudi relations that would also include a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the two sources said. U.S. officials have previously said the administration wants to try to complete this diplomatic initiative before the presidential election campaign consumes President Biden’s agenda, as Axios reported earlier this year. Such a deal could be unpopular among Democrats and might cost Biden a lot of political capital. But a deal could be a historic breakthrough in Middle East peace, leading to a domino effect of more Arab and Muslim-majority countries normalizing relations with Israel and putting U.S.-Saudi relations back on track. rett McGurk, the White House Middle East czar, and Amos Hochstein, Biden’s senior adviser for energy and infrastructure, joined Sullivan on his trip, the sources said… Sullivan met with MBS and other senior Saudi officials “to discuss bilateral and regional matters, including initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East region interconnected with the world,” the White House said in a readout of the visit. |
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