Anything to Keep Himself Out of Jail

In order to prevent his prosecution for rampant corruption, immediately after the last election Benjamin Netanyahu (יִמַּח שְׁמו) set about destroying the independence and the authority of Israel's Judiciary. (I bet that the hed made you think that I was going to write about Trump)

Following the most massive protests in the history of Israel in opposition to these moves, the Knesset has past the first step of so-called "Court Reform".

Every one of Israel's security services have publicly stated that this action is a clear and present danger to the security of Israel, but there is nothing that Netanyahu will do to keep himself out of jail. 

At home, it left one half of society wondering whether their country — under the control of Mr. Netanyahu’s alliance of religious conservatives and ultranationalists — would now slide slowly into a religious autocracy.

“These could be the last days of Israeli democracy,” said Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli author and historian of humanity. “We might witness the rise of a Jewish supremacist dictatorship in Israel, which will not just be a terrible thing for Israeli citizens, but also a terrible thing for the Palestinians, for Jewish traditions, and potentially, for the entire Middle East.”

………

But to critics and supporters alike, questions remain about the stability and capacity of Israel’s armed forces, after a surge in protests from thousands of military reservists.

There is also the specter of social and economic turmoil, after major unrest broke out overnight in cities across the country, labor leaders warned of a general strike, a doctors’ union announced a daylong reduction in medical services, and high-tech businesses said they were considering moving to more stable economies, according to a new survey.


Abroad, the vote fostered greater ambiguity about the future of Israel’s alliance with the United States, after expressions of growing alarm from the Biden administration. It heightened the unease among American Jews about the trajectory of the Jewish state.

 Once again, I think that Netanyahu is a clear and present danger to the state of Israel.*

………

Then there is Mr. Netanyahu’s ongoing trial for corruption: Critics fear Mr. Netanyahu could attempt to scuttle it now that the Supreme Court is less able to oppose him, a claim he has long denied.

Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?†

Beneath all this lurks the possibility of an imminent and existential crisis for Israeli governance. If the Supreme Court in the coming weeks uses the remaining tools at its disposal to block the implementation of the new law, it could force the various parts of the Israeli state to decide which arm of government to obey.

This is why a written constitution, one that is difficult and involved to amend is a better idea than relying on custom.

Bibi wants to stay out of jail in the worst way, and he is doing so in the worst way.

^*Netanyahu is a clear and present danger to the State of Israel.

Please note that I am not calling him a רוֹדֵף (rodef), literally a pursuer, which would mean that we are required under Halacha (Jewish law) that a רוֹדֵף (rodef) be stopped by any means necessary, including lethal force.

It would be irresponsible for me to call him a רוֹדֵף (rodef). It would be irresponsible for anyone to ANYONE a רוֹדֵף (rodef).

It is an explicit call for the murder of another individual.

Do not call him a רוֹדֵף (rodef). It is wrong to call him a רוֹדֵף (rodef), even if Netanyahu tacitly endorsed such statements against Yitzhak Rabin before his assassination by a religious extremist.

Also calling him עֲמָלֵק (Amalek) is right out.

^†You know, Mandy Rice-Davies, the Profumo Affair? Seriously, learn your history.