I cannot now find the quotation, but I seem to remember John Dickinson warning the American constitutional convention that the judiciary of Aragon by degrees became its lawgivers. You have a self-perpetuating court that took it upon itself to engage in judicial review of executive and legislative action without any existing constitution giving it any such authority, or to act as a stable guide by which to judge these actions.
Half of Israel mostly in and around Tel Aviv are leftists . They, like the Biden Administration have criminalized politics in their country. We at least have the 5th amendment which has the Convention of States clause to limit a rogue federal government and it hand picked biased judges.
Many of these leftists are Palestinian appeasers who have no problem with israel going back to its original borders. They are as deranged as the ones in the US who have turned the southern border into chaos.
The rallies for Netanyahu were bigger than the leftist rallies. Its time for Israel to provide the checks and balances necessary to counter rogue courts and prosecutors.
The peace process is dead?? Are you just referring to so called "peace" with the so called "Palestinians"? That has been tried many times and it is not the fault of Israel that it has never happened and you surely know that. Seems Bibi has been making peace with many countries in the region. If Israel falls I believe it will be because of people with opinions like yours. I guess you can always go back to Canada if that happens.
Smotrich? You can add this guy, the author, Matti Friedman, to the list of those who are extremists. You have guys not following military discipline and deciding for themselves to give the terrorists a road to killing Israelis. And then all this backed by Friedman. And you are pointing a finger at Smotrich? Nonsensical arguments. And what facts? Netanyahu is being processed for "future crimes." You said there is no Left in Israel, but decry Netanyahu for not getting a supermajority on his own, for not allowing a more diverse group of parties, to rule. Sorry, pal, and thanks for your service, but you don't thereby get a pass here. If anyone is condemnable, you are also condemnable. At least be honest. You don't trust anyone on the Right, and maybe correctly don't trust them, because your politics can't get a foothold, so "burn the MF down." At least say that, and let the Israeli public see where your head really is at in the spectrum of political connivance. Instead, you hide behind Smotrich.
The author is living in a judicialocracy with a group of unelected judges ruling over the whole population with the last word on everything. He does NOT live in any form of a democracy. He apparently loves the experience.
Just to present a contrast to all the whining right-wing, Hungarian wannabes here, I'd like to say, "Good luck, Mr. Friedman!" I only hope you're more fortunate than the US was in 2016.
The peace process has been dead for 20 years?! Is the author unaware of the Abraham Accords, brokered in 2020 by the Trump administration, the first Arab–Israeli normalization since 1994, that led to full diplomatic recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and was negotiated by Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, and Kushner's assistant Avi Berkowitz? Oh, but of course the Left doesn't remember anything good accomplished by Netanyahu or Donald Trump.
I'm surprised that someone as smart as Matti Friedman could write such a stupid article. Here is my response:
"They are out to get me." The settlers said the same thing during disengagement. But they had a good point. Sharon lied during the election ("Netzarim is like Tel Aviv") and what Sharon did was irreversible. All the talk about the "end of democracy" is complete rubbish. If the left doesn't don't like what Netanyahu is doing, they can vote for the other guy the next time out and undo the reforms (you couldn't undo disengagement; once the IDF pulled out it was over). But they know they can't because they know they can't win an election. So they aren't fighting for democracy, they are fighting against it.
Netanyahu should step aside??? Hah! He won the election. Let them climb down off the tree and agree to sit with him.
Closer to Turkey and Poland? Hah! Once the politicians pick judges they will be closer to America.
"Most extreme government"??? Hah! The radicals are the smallest partner in the coalition. Smotrich will only be Finance Minister for 1 year. Ben-Gvir has oversight over the police. This is the end of the world?? Likud controls the big 3 jobs, PM, FM & DM. All three guys are moderates.
Given the raw vitriol that passes for discussions about the world's only Jewish country, I will trust Netanyahu on this one, versus frothing-at-the-mouth Bibi-bashing commentary in the West.
You don't have to like him. But he keeps his country safe, and by the way Israel under Netanyahu has not gone to war, but only responded (very effectively) to deadly attacks.
It's like Donald Trump, who tried to reduce American involvement in foreign wars, resisted escalations with Iran, wiped out ISIS in Syria and pulled out many of the troops, and otherwise simply presented a strong, pro-U.S. face to the world that deterred aggression.
It is highly unlikely that Iran or its proxies in Lebanon would dare try anything against Israel while Netanyahu is in power. Nor are the Arabs in West Bank and Gaza testing him, other than the recent, tragic, lone wolf attacks that have been met with savage responses.
Here's my (very real) question: These changes are, I think, something that the coalition that is the current government campaigned on doing. In other words, it's at least not a surprise that they proposed these changes. The coalition that is now in power is proceeding to enact policies that it campaigned that it would do. These policies might be good or bad, but they are what someone voting for the parties in the coalition would expect to happen and someone voting against them would oppose. The election was very close but the parties in the current government won. It is now doing what it (or at least part of it) campaigned on doing.
Presumably lots of Israeli voters don't like that, since they voted for parties that didn't end up in government. Probably more than half of the electorate, as some parties opposed to the current government didn't make the threshold to get into the Knesset.
But the rules of Israeli politics don't have a threshold for policies that they be acceptable to a majority of voters, just that they be acceptable to 50%+1 of the members of the Knesset.
Israel also operates under a constitutional regime by which things like the power of the SCT can be changed by a majority of the Knesset. That's not true in, say, the US (if we're talking constitutional level change), but Israel adopted a different system.
So why isn't the answer to those who don't like these rules just "go out and elect a different government next time and change them again"? I understand that the opposition is very passionate about these changes but the changes do seem both (a) predictable given the campaign and so have some democratic legitimacy and (b) being made according to the rules. Am I wrong in my assumption that this was an issue that voters knew the coalition would put into action if it won? Is there something illegitimate about how it is proceeding under the existing constitutional framework?
The Biden regime has been financially supporting enemies of Netanyahu's coalition, much as Obama did. Fortunately, the Israelis aren't quite that stupid.
I cannot now find the quotation, but I seem to remember John Dickinson warning the American constitutional convention that the judiciary of Aragon by degrees became its lawgivers. You have a self-perpetuating court that took it upon itself to engage in judicial review of executive and legislative action without any existing constitution giving it any such authority, or to act as a stable guide by which to judge these actions.
Netanyahu setting the table for that genocide....
Asshole
Half of Israel mostly in and around Tel Aviv are leftists . They, like the Biden Administration have criminalized politics in their country. We at least have the 5th amendment which has the Convention of States clause to limit a rogue federal government and it hand picked biased judges.
Many of these leftists are Palestinian appeasers who have no problem with israel going back to its original borders. They are as deranged as the ones in the US who have turned the southern border into chaos.
The rallies for Netanyahu were bigger than the leftist rallies. Its time for Israel to provide the checks and balances necessary to counter rogue courts and prosecutors.
The peace process is dead?? Are you just referring to so called "peace" with the so called "Palestinians"? That has been tried many times and it is not the fault of Israel that it has never happened and you surely know that. Seems Bibi has been making peace with many countries in the region. If Israel falls I believe it will be because of people with opinions like yours. I guess you can always go back to Canada if that happens.
Where is my comment I wrote several days ago?
Smotrich? You can add this guy, the author, Matti Friedman, to the list of those who are extremists. You have guys not following military discipline and deciding for themselves to give the terrorists a road to killing Israelis. And then all this backed by Friedman. And you are pointing a finger at Smotrich? Nonsensical arguments. And what facts? Netanyahu is being processed for "future crimes." You said there is no Left in Israel, but decry Netanyahu for not getting a supermajority on his own, for not allowing a more diverse group of parties, to rule. Sorry, pal, and thanks for your service, but you don't thereby get a pass here. If anyone is condemnable, you are also condemnable. At least be honest. You don't trust anyone on the Right, and maybe correctly don't trust them, because your politics can't get a foothold, so "burn the MF down." At least say that, and let the Israeli public see where your head really is at in the spectrum of political connivance. Instead, you hide behind Smotrich.
The author is living in a judicialocracy with a group of unelected judges ruling over the whole population with the last word on everything. He does NOT live in any form of a democracy. He apparently loves the experience.
Just to present a contrast to all the whining right-wing, Hungarian wannabes here, I'd like to say, "Good luck, Mr. Friedman!" I only hope you're more fortunate than the US was in 2016.
The peace process has been dead for 20 years?! Is the author unaware of the Abraham Accords, brokered in 2020 by the Trump administration, the first Arab–Israeli normalization since 1994, that led to full diplomatic recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and was negotiated by Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, and Kushner's assistant Avi Berkowitz? Oh, but of course the Left doesn't remember anything good accomplished by Netanyahu or Donald Trump.
Very informative. Thanks!
I'm surprised that someone as smart as Matti Friedman could write such a stupid article. Here is my response:
"They are out to get me." The settlers said the same thing during disengagement. But they had a good point. Sharon lied during the election ("Netzarim is like Tel Aviv") and what Sharon did was irreversible. All the talk about the "end of democracy" is complete rubbish. If the left doesn't don't like what Netanyahu is doing, they can vote for the other guy the next time out and undo the reforms (you couldn't undo disengagement; once the IDF pulled out it was over). But they know they can't because they know they can't win an election. So they aren't fighting for democracy, they are fighting against it.
Netanyahu should step aside??? Hah! He won the election. Let them climb down off the tree and agree to sit with him.
Closer to Turkey and Poland? Hah! Once the politicians pick judges they will be closer to America.
"Most extreme government"??? Hah! The radicals are the smallest partner in the coalition. Smotrich will only be Finance Minister for 1 year. Ben-Gvir has oversight over the police. This is the end of the world?? Likud controls the big 3 jobs, PM, FM & DM. All three guys are moderates.
It's all nonsense.
Given the raw vitriol that passes for discussions about the world's only Jewish country, I will trust Netanyahu on this one, versus frothing-at-the-mouth Bibi-bashing commentary in the West.
You don't have to like him. But he keeps his country safe, and by the way Israel under Netanyahu has not gone to war, but only responded (very effectively) to deadly attacks.
It's like Donald Trump, who tried to reduce American involvement in foreign wars, resisted escalations with Iran, wiped out ISIS in Syria and pulled out many of the troops, and otherwise simply presented a strong, pro-U.S. face to the world that deterred aggression.
It is highly unlikely that Iran or its proxies in Lebanon would dare try anything against Israel while Netanyahu is in power. Nor are the Arabs in West Bank and Gaza testing him, other than the recent, tragic, lone wolf attacks that have been met with savage responses.
Here's my (very real) question: These changes are, I think, something that the coalition that is the current government campaigned on doing. In other words, it's at least not a surprise that they proposed these changes. The coalition that is now in power is proceeding to enact policies that it campaigned that it would do. These policies might be good or bad, but they are what someone voting for the parties in the coalition would expect to happen and someone voting against them would oppose. The election was very close but the parties in the current government won. It is now doing what it (or at least part of it) campaigned on doing.
Presumably lots of Israeli voters don't like that, since they voted for parties that didn't end up in government. Probably more than half of the electorate, as some parties opposed to the current government didn't make the threshold to get into the Knesset.
But the rules of Israeli politics don't have a threshold for policies that they be acceptable to a majority of voters, just that they be acceptable to 50%+1 of the members of the Knesset.
Israel also operates under a constitutional regime by which things like the power of the SCT can be changed by a majority of the Knesset. That's not true in, say, the US (if we're talking constitutional level change), but Israel adopted a different system.
So why isn't the answer to those who don't like these rules just "go out and elect a different government next time and change them again"? I understand that the opposition is very passionate about these changes but the changes do seem both (a) predictable given the campaign and so have some democratic legitimacy and (b) being made according to the rules. Am I wrong in my assumption that this was an issue that voters knew the coalition would put into action if it won? Is there something illegitimate about how it is proceeding under the existing constitutional framework?
The Biden regime has been financially supporting enemies of Netanyahu's coalition, much as Obama did. Fortunately, the Israelis aren't quite that stupid.
A simple question for Matti Friedman, whose work I’ve long admired:
Do you understand that the US is no longer a stable ally?
We’ve had a bit of a cultural revolution, you see.
Try reading Evelyn Gordon in Mosaic for a really balanced discussion
Agreed. That’s the most thoughtful and serious discussion I’ve seen so far.