[Salon] Fwd: The Sunday Recap: The real goal of the judicial coup

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Subject: The Sunday Recap: The real goal of the judicial coup
Date: July 30, 2023 at 2:28:45 PM EDT
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JULY 30, 2023
The real goal of the judicial coup
Welcome to the Sunday Recap!
Before we get to last week’s articles, we want to tell you about our upcoming event. Join us on Tuesday, August 1 for a webinar featuring +972 journalists Amjad Iraqi and Vera Sajrawi, as well as Local Call’s Oren Ziv, about the current moment in Israel-Palestine. They will discuss how to connect the dots between what happened in Jenin in early July and what’s unfolding in Israel’s streets; what discussions are currently happening in Palestinian society; what the Israeli government has planned; and what shifts are developing inside the protest movement. We can’t wait to see you there, so sign up here!
Last week, the Knesset passed the first major law in the far right’s judicial overhaul package, stripping the Supreme Court of its ability to cancel government decisions it deems “extremely unreasonable.” Ben Reiff wrote about a speech that Justice Minister Yariv Levin gave on the Knesset floor a few hours before the vote, in which the minister listed five rulings he believed proved the court’s unfair interference — all of which were about Palestinians and the occupation.
The removal of the “reasonableness clause” went forward despite intensified pressure from Israeli protesters throughout the country, as photographed by Oren Ziv. Analyzing the civil strife, Menachem Klein warned that while the government can rely on nationalist-religious identity to mobilize its supporters, the opposition still suffers serious weaknesses in doing the same. In a response to Klein, Ameer Fakhoury wrote that the way to avoid civil strife is for the protest movement to discard the struggle for a “Jewish and democratic” state and embrace the idea of a state for all its citizens.
Meanwhile, Roni Pelli wrote about how, while Israelis were out protesting the judicial overhaul, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s de facto West Bank governor, quietly declared the end of the Oslo Accords in all but name. Gil Gertel wrote about a proposed bill that authorizes the Shin Bet to hire and fire school teachers based on broad “terrorism” accusations — a proposal so extreme that even the Shin Bet opposes it.
And lastly, ahead of the centenary of the Israeli Communist Party, Joel Beinin explored the history of the party as the leading force for Jewish-Palestinian equality in Israeli politics for 100 years, yet one that has still failed to unite Arab and Jewish workers into a viable movement.
One last thing. This is a moment of deep crisis in Israel-Palestine and we need you to have our back. Our journalists are on the frontlines, making sure you get the best reporting and analysis from inside the struggle for true justice between the river and the sea. They do so because thousands of readers support our work. If you are not already one of them — now is the time to join! Support +972 with a one-off donation, or better yet, with a monthly donation. Thank you!

Israel’s justice minister gives away the real aim of the judicial coup’s first law
In a Knesset speech, Yariv Levin listed five gov't decisions that were blocked for being ‘unreasonable.’ All were about Palestinians and the occupation.
By Ben Reiff
PHOTOS: Anti-government protests escalate as Israel curbs judiciary
Israelis continued to take to the streets in their tens of thousands over the past week to protest the government's judicial overhaul.
By Oren Ziv
In the looming civil war, the Israeli right has the upper hand
While the government can rely on national-religious identity to mobilize supporters, the opposition’s counternarrative suffers a serious weakness.
By Menachem Klein
The only answer to the Israeli right’s war: A state for all its citizens
Israel’s protest leaders are strengthening an ethnocratic identity that lacks all consistency with their ‘democratic’ mission. But an alternative exists.
By Ameer Fakhoury
While Israelis were in the streets, Smotrich unveiled his annexation plans
As protests escalated last week over the judicial overhaul, Israel's finance minister declared the end of the Oslo Accords in all but name.
By Roni Pelli
Teachers or terrorists? Far-right MKs want the Shin Bet to police schools
A bill authorizing Israel's security service to hire and fire teachers, a policy long carried out in Arab schools, is so extreme that even the Shin Bet opposes it.
By Gil Gertel

PHOTOS, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Yariv Levin (Flash90), Anti-government protester (Oren Ziv), Pro-judicial overhaul protesters (Flash90), anti-government protesters (Flash90), Bezalel Smotrich (Flash90), Schoolteacher (Flash90), Israeli Communist Party conference (National Library of Israel/Dan Hadani Archive/The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection)

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