Yom Shnee
Monday
27 Adar 5783
March 20 2023
The News on the Israeli Street
The war in Judea and Samaria.
Shooting attack:
A Palestinian terrorist struck again in broad daylight in the middle of Hawara–in exactly the same place as another terrorist murdered the Yaniv brothers three weeks ago.
David Stern of Itamar along with his wife and children were targeted by the terrorist who fired at them point blank with a machine gun:
The car was hit with 14 bullets.
What the terrorist didn’t count on was the fact that Stern is/was a U.S. Marine.
From Stern’s Marine Corps days.
Stern’s first reaction was to cover his wife with his body. He was then shot in the head and the body. However, he then reached his own weapon and shot the terrorist who dropped his weapon and ran away–only to be shot again by a nearby soldier. Stern stopped his own bleeding, bandaged his own wounds, and waited for an ambulance to arrive.
Click here to see David Stern walking from his car to the ambulance.
A last note about the heroic Stern who is in serious but stable condition. From the age of 7, he has been a practitioner of 3 martial arts, and taught Krav Maga to his fellow Marines when he served. For years, he has been teaching martial arts to young men in Itamar who have dropped out of yeshivas. He is a 5th Dan ninjutsu master:
A photo from a decade ago of Stern teaching martial arts.
IED, Molotov, and “rock” attacks:
Palestinian terrorists tried to murder Israelis between the Post and Nala Junctions (an Israeli was wounded), at the Avraham Hasnou Junction southwest of Hevron, between Beit Omer and the Karmi Tzur Junction, on Road 443 near Beit Ur Al-Thata, in the vicinity of Anta, between Hizma and Adam (Israeli wounded in the head), on the Hosan Bypass Road, and at another dozen locations.
The Supreme Court outrageously strikes again . . .
In an unprecedented decision yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Amit issued a decision yesterday in which he has forbidden our Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir–who is in charge of the police–from participating in operational police decisions.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Ben Gvir correctly said in response this morning: “Justice Yitzhak Amit abolished the executive authority in Israel. The meaning of this decision is a real coup.”
Amit’s decision underscores how absurd the situation has become and how badly the country needs judicial reform. The Supreme Court feels that it has the power to intervene in every aspect of government at any time.
The Sharm Al-Sheikh Agreement . . .
We have quickly found ourselves back on our knees to the Biden Administration. First came the news yesterday that Israel has agreed to pull back our IDF forces in Judea and Samaria and not proactively go after terrorists until after the end of Ramadan.
Thereby exposing every Israeli to terror attacks.
Then came the news from the U.S. demanded Sharm Al-Sheikh conference between the PLO and Israel that we have agreed:
*Not to discuss the promotion of new construction in the “settlements” for 4 months
*Not to legalize “outposts” for six months
*Engage in direct talks with the Palestinians
At least this does not apply to the 10 communities already legalized or the 9,500+ apartments approved.
TODAY’S BLOG
What Just Happened On the Legal Reform Front?
All of Israel is abuzz today about Knesset Constitution-Law-Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman announcing that he has produced a new “softer” outline for the selection of Supreme Court Justices.
The reaction has been swift from both sides of the spectrum:
From the Right:
“There is nothing new under the sun. We voted right, won right and got left.”
Tali Gottlieb, Knesset member of the Likud Party
“The expectation of the right is a fundamental change in the judicial system and not a white flag as a compromise. We won’t let that happen.”
Almog Cohen, Knesset member from the Otzma Yehudit Party
“The conduct here is treacherous conduct . . . I feel that we have been betrayed. I have nothing to say. We should bring down the government.”
Limor Son Har Melech, Knesset member from the Otzma Yehudit Party
From the Left:
“This is not a softening, but a declaration of war by the Israeli government on its citizens and on Israeli democracy. The legislation they are trying to pass is the first chapter in turning Israel into a dictatorship . . .”
Statement from the leaders of the anti-government movement
“It is mandatory to oppose this dangerous legislation, and if it is indeed promoted, we demand that the leaders of the opposition cut off all contact with the Israeli government, not hold any talks with it and boycott the votes on the law. This is an illegitimate government and it is forbidden to cooperate with it.”
Another statement from the leaders of the anti-government movement
“A blatant attempt by the Netanyahu government to take over the committee for selecting judges and turn the Supreme Court into another political arm of the government. The exact opposite of the principle of separation of powers. This is a compromise that is all eye-catching and throwing sand in the eyes of the public. If the coalition does not stop the dangerous legislation – the protest against it will grow stronger and stronger. There will be no dictatorship in Israel. We will fight for it in court and in the streets – until we win.”
The Movement for the Quality of Government
Actually, the details of Rothman’s “softer” proposal have not been published yet in their entirety, but the basic plan for the Judicial Selection Committee is that it would contain:
3 Cabinet Ministers (all from the Coalition)
3 Non-cabinet Knesset Coalition Members
2 Knesset Opposition Members
3 Justices on the Supreme Court
Thus, there would be a total of 11 on the Committee–six from the Coalition, and the first two Justices in a term would be chosen by a majority vote of 6.
So far so good.
The problem comes with Justices 3, 4, and so on. There would be a different manner of choosing them (not yet described in full detail)–and it is this part that has apparently so inflamed the members of the Right.
As for the Left, no compromise or softening will ever be enough for them because they simply want to oust the government.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.