{"id":1981527,"date":"2023-07-24T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T20:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ignore-president-biden-heres-what-is-really-happening-in-israel\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T16:49:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T20:49:57","slug":"ignore-president-biden-heres-what-is-really-happening-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ignore-president-biden-heres-what-is-really-happening-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on Israel&#8217;s Current Situation, Disregard President Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fignore-president-biden-heres-what-is-really-happening-in-israel%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1981527&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>President Biden\u200d Urges \u2064Israeli Prime Minister to Halt Divisive Judicial Overhaul Bill<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>President Joe Biden has reportedly \u2062asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop pushing through a \u201cdivisive\u201d judicial overhaul bill amid protests.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This is the same Biden, incidentally,\u200c who crammed through a massive, highly \u201cdivisive,\u201d generational spending bill with \u2064zero votes from the opposition; the same guy who regularly rules \u200bby unconstitutional\u200c executive diktats; and the same guy who has done more to delegitimize the Supreme Court than any president \u200bin modern\u2062 history.\u2063 Not exactly the moral high \u200dground.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-143861988\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c393a7149531dd8feaa84364ab900461 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c393a7149531dd8feaa84364ab900461\"><\/div>\n<h3>The Concern Over Judicial Limitations<\/h3>\n<p>In any event, the president is\u200d concerned. As \u200bis The New York Times, which <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nytimes\/status\/1683462179272400896\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a>, \u201cIsrael\u2019s Parliament passed a deeply contentious law \u200dlimiting the Supreme Court\u2019s ability to\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/protests-and-strikes-break-out-in-israel-over-netanyahus-desired-judicial-overhaul\/\" title=\"Israel experiences demonstrations and cuts in response to Netanyahu's proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/left-wing-dark-money-groups-unite-to-undo-trumps-judicial-legacy\/\" title=\"Left-Wing Dark Money Groups Unite to Undo Trump\u2019s Judicial Legacy\">judicial reform<\/a>.&#8221;>overturn decisions made<\/a>\u200d by government ministers.\u201d What the Times means is that there is a new law \u2063limiting the judiciary\u2019s ability to unilaterally declare legislation \u201cunconstitutional\u201d without using <em>any<\/em> legal justification whatsoever.<\/p>\n<p>Because,\u200c as it stands, \u200dIsrael has a strong <em>anti<\/em>-democratic \u200dsystem overseen by a\u2064 high court that is probably the most powerful judiciary in the free world. Netanyahu\u2019s judicial\u200c reforms, only a\u200b small piece has\u200c passed, would <a href=\"https:\/\/mosaicmagazine.com\/essay\/israel-zionism\/2023\/03\/israels-judicial-reckoning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bring<\/a> Israel back all\u200b the\u200c way to \u200d1995, when \u201cjudiciary revolution\u201d imbued the court with supreme power over legislation.\u200c The alleged authoritarian \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/03\/29\/biden-democracy-global-summit-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">backsliding<\/a>\u201d by Israel\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2023\/07\/24\/israel-judicial-reform-passes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">far-right<\/a>\u201d government \u200b\u2014 \u2063as if there is any other kind \u2014 would likely create a far more \u201cdemocratic\u201d \u2064system.<\/p>\n<p>The judiciary primacy might work if the Israeli court\u2019s decisions were grounded in\u200b some kind of statutory authority, traditional legal\u2063 framework, or even \u200cexisting regulation and law.\u200c But there is no Israeli constitution. \u200bThe court\u2019s decisions are often arbitrary, \u2064politically expedient, constantly evolving, and sometimes contradictory. The court regularly blocks laws\u200b passed\u2062 by center-right governments\u2063 simply because judges claim policy is unreasonable.<\/p>\n<h3>The Need for Judicial Reform<\/h3>\n<p>Why \u2062only center-right\u200c governments? Because the \u200bentrenched judges (with their allies in\u200c the Israeli bar)\u2062 appoint their own successors in \u2064perpetuity. There is no accountability to either the popular\u2062 will or a constitutional tradition. Imagine\u200c the American left\u2019s outlook if the Supreme Court\u2019s originalists could simply tap their own replacements\u2062 without any input \u2063from senators or the president. \u201cOnly in Israel do \u200bjudges confer the power of abstract review on themselves, without benefit of\u200b a constitutional or legislative provision,\u201d \u2062Richard Posner \u200conce <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.timesofisrael.com\/the-judicial-apocalypse-is-not-upon-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> \u200c the nation\u2019s \u2064system. \u201cOne is reminded of\u2063 Napoleon\u2019s taking the crown\u2064 out of the pope\u2019s hands and putting it\u200c on his\u200c own \u200dhead.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-606b3fa52f86036d3c6bb26311890398 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-606b3fa52f86036d3c6bb26311890398\"><\/div>\n<p>The \u200csystem \u200dis so insane that not\u200d only can the court lord over \u200bthe legislative \u200bbranch without explanation, but it\u2063 can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/01\/18\/world\/middleeast\/israel-aryeh-deri-netanyahu.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remove<\/a> \u2063ministers and \u200belected\u200c officials \u200cat will. The attorney\u200d general is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/world\/israels-attorney-general-says-netanyahu-cannot-be-involved-in-judicial-system-overhaul\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empowered<\/a> to bar officials \u2063\u2014 even \u2063the prime\u200d minister \u2014\u2064 from <em>participating<\/em> in national debates. This is not, \u200dby any real \u200cstandard, \u201cdemocratic\u201d governance. It\u2063 is illiberal.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps there is no good\u2063 way to \u2062balance what is \u200beffectively \u2064two\u200d branches of the Israeli\u200c government. It\u2019s a complicated\u2064 issue. Reforms are no panacea. Some aspects make more sense than others. But judicial reform is hardly a new idea, and \u2062reforms\u2064 are not being \u201crushed.\u201d They have been debated \u2062within Israeli politics for decades, with numerous moderate legal \u200dvoices proposing changes \u2063over that time. \u200dIn many \u200cways, \u2062the freak-out reminds me of the American left\u2019s alarmism over tax cuts and\u2064 net neutrality. It \u200dis\u200b largely \u2062a political effort to undermine\u200c Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>The Associated Press, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=%22associated+press%22+grassroots+israeli+protest&#038;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS913US913&#038;sxsrf=AB5stBhnVqqUEiX4i751UOxBnslRpkkVsg%3A1690224256967&#038;ei=gMa-ZLHYOO-h5NoP_c6NuAM&#038;ved=0ahUKEwixmLODgKiAAxXvEFkFHX1nAzcQ4dUDCBA&#038;uact=5&#038;oq=%22associated+press%22+grassroots+israeli+protest&#038;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLSJhc3NvY2lhdGVkIHByZXNzIiBncmFzc3Jvb3RzIGlzcmFlbGkgcHJvdGVzdDIIECEYoAEYwwQyCBAhGKABGMMEMggQIRigARjDBEiZS1C1D1i1SXADeAGQAQCYAWagAfwCqgEDNC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICBBAjGCfCAgcQIxiwAhgn4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCA&#038;sclient=gws-wiz-serp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stresses<\/a> that the protests in Israel are a \u201cgrassroots\u201d effort as if this imbues a mob with a moral \u200bhigh ground\u200b or the authority to dictate government policy. In truth, many of\u2063 the marches \u2014 and threats \u2063to \u200dshut down \u200cIsraeli society \u2014 are organized by Israel\u2019s biggest and most powerful unions \u200dand egged on by foreigners. \u2062If \u2064the prime minister lets these protestors blackmail him, he might \u2064as well resign right \u200cnow. It\u2019s going \u2063to incentivize anarchy.<\/p>\n<p>As of now, \u200dprotestors from\u2064 both \u200dsides are out\u200d on the \u200dstreets. And\u200c so far, they haven\u2019t engaged \u2062in\u2063 the\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-palestinians-gaza-scene\/gaza-fighting-descends-into-new-brutality-idUSL1264188820070612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defenestration<\/a> of their opponents or any violence. The debate is\u200d an illustration of \u200da \u200d\u201cdemocracy\u201d working, not one sliding into tyranny.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-959e0d948963764888f24b16d3481d34 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-959e0d948963764888f24b16d3481d34\"><\/div>\n<p>Yet,\u200c every time Israel\u2063 has a contentious internal debate, concern-trolls like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/23\/opinion\/israel-biden.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tom Friedman<\/a> emerge to lament the coming end\u2064 of Israeli democracy. You will\u200b notice that according to the\u2063 media, legislative \u200bproposals, domestic or foreign, are only \u201cdivisive\u201d\u200d and \u201cdeeply contentious\u201d when conservatives support them. The reality is \u200dthat virtually everything \u200cwe do in politics \u200bis \u201cdivisive\u201d and \u201cdeeply contentious.\u201d That\u2019s why politics exists. And in Israel, the time of day is a \u2063deeply contentious issue.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, for\u200d the left, \u201cdemocracy\u201d can mean hyper-majoritarianism or judicial tyranny. Whatever works. Depends\u200d on the day. What \u2064am I \u200dsaying? Democrats will argue that limiting judicial supremacy\u200d in Israel is an attack on \u201cdemocracy\u201d while <em><a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2023\/06\/29\/biden-blasts-supreme-court-as-not-normal-after-affirmative-action-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">at the same time<\/a><\/em>  claiming SCOTUS is engaged\u2064 in judicial\u2062 supremacy for showing deference to the Constitution and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-not-minority-rule-its-the-point\/\" title=\"It\u2019s Not \u2018Minority Rule,\u2019 It\u2019s The Point\">handing back issues<\/a> like abortion to voters. Calvinball all the way down.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the Israeli Supreme Court was packed with \u200bright-wingers instead of left-wingers, \u200cAmerican media, the Democratic Party, and the protestors would be on the reform\u2062 side. None \u200cof this \u200dhas\u200d anything to do with governing principles or justice\u2063 or norms or \u201cdemocracy.\u201d Like \u200cthose \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/07\/17\/the-supreme-court-ethics-scandal-is-the-new-russia-collusion-hoax\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">destroying<\/a> the\u2064 American judiciary at home, it\u2019s about power.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli \u200dright is also about power. I\u2019m not na\u00efve. \u2062But right now, the reforms they\u2063 support are far better aligned with the \u200bnorms of a functioning \u201cdemocracy\u201d than the ones in place. That\u2019s something a person reading headlines in the American press might \u2064not know.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ba08f68244c137db0b904b1db77072fb fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ba08f68244c137db0b904b1db77072fb\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the controversial judicial overhaul bill amidst public demonstrations. Ironically, Biden himself recently passed a contentious spending bill without any opposition support, frequently resorting to unconstitutional executive orders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":831,"featured_media":1981528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/831"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1981528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}