Is this headline worrisome or liberal hype?
More than 300 U.S. rabbis have put their signatures to a letter warning that Israel’s new government under incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could do “irreparable harm” with extremist policies.
The letter cautions against policy proposals from extreme Jewish nationalist members set to join Netanyahu’s Cabinet and government, calling them “anathema to the tenets of democracy.”
If implemented, the policies “will cause irreparable harm to the Israel-Jewish Diaspora relationship, as they are an affront to the vast majority of American Jews and our values,” the letter reads.
The rabbis argue the policies could erode women’s rights, expel Arab Israelis and override Israeli Supreme Court rulings, among other actions they say could run counter to the country’s values.
Netanyahu is set to return to power as Israel’s prime minister for the third time after pulling together a far-right governing coalition, called the most extreme administration in the country’s history.
The rabbis further pledge in their open letter to protest the hard-right administration by blocking members of the Religious Zionist Party from participating in their congregations and organizations, and call on other clergy members to do the same.
“When those who tout racism and bigotry claim to speak in the name of Israel, but deny our rights, our heritage, and the rights of the most vulnerable among us, we must take action. We must speak out,” the rabbis wrote.
In the Nov. 1 election, Netanyahu and his allies captured a majority of 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and he vowed to quickly put together a coalition. But that process turned out to be more complicated than anticipated, in part because his ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners demanded firm guarantees on the scope of their powers.
Before the government is sworn in, Netanyahu will try to push through a series of laws needed to expand Ben-Gvir’s authority over the police and to create a new ministerial position granting Smotrich powers in the West Bank that in the past were held by the defense minister.
Israel’s Netanyahu says he has formed new government | The Hill
More than 300 U.S. rabbis have put their signatures to a letter warning that Israel’s new government under incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could do “irreparable harm” with extremist policies.
The letter cautions against policy proposals from extreme Jewish nationalist members set to join Netanyahu’s Cabinet and government, calling them “anathema to the tenets of democracy.”
If implemented, the policies “will cause irreparable harm to the Israel-Jewish Diaspora relationship, as they are an affront to the vast majority of American Jews and our values,” the letter reads.
The rabbis argue the policies could erode women’s rights, expel Arab Israelis and override Israeli Supreme Court rulings, among other actions they say could run counter to the country’s values.
Netanyahu is set to return to power as Israel’s prime minister for the third time after pulling together a far-right governing coalition, called the most extreme administration in the country’s history.
The rabbis further pledge in their open letter to protest the hard-right administration by blocking members of the Religious Zionist Party from participating in their congregations and organizations, and call on other clergy members to do the same.
“When those who tout racism and bigotry claim to speak in the name of Israel, but deny our rights, our heritage, and the rights of the most vulnerable among us, we must take action. We must speak out,” the rabbis wrote.
In the Nov. 1 election, Netanyahu and his allies captured a majority of 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and he vowed to quickly put together a coalition. But that process turned out to be more complicated than anticipated, in part because his ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners demanded firm guarantees on the scope of their powers.
Before the government is sworn in, Netanyahu will try to push through a series of laws needed to expand Ben-Gvir’s authority over the police and to create a new ministerial position granting Smotrich powers in the West Bank that in the past were held by the defense minister.
Israel’s Netanyahu says he has formed new government | The Hill
