Things heating up in Israhell, with bomber hinting attack on Bibi

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 Protest outside embassy attracts 'more than expected' say organisers
Yesterday's event in London was timed to coincide with other international rallies against the Israeli government's planned legal reforms
https://www.thejc.com/news/news/protest-outside-embassy-attracts-more-than-expected-say-organisers-jRJKnowHHJefD6rgQLLZ0?reloadTime=1675614248440

Hundreds of Israelis based in the UK staged an unprecedented protest outside Israel's London Embassy on Saturday afternoon against their government's planned judicial reforms which they say are a threat to democracy.

The event was timed to coincide with similar demonstrations in 18 other cities in Europe and North America as well as in Israel, where thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv for a fifth week running.

Omer Regev, an MBA student at the London Business School, estimated that more than 300 people came to the London rally. "There were more than we expected, we didn't expect more than 100 to show up."

They ranged from teenagers and students to older people, he said, and from temporary residents to those who have lived longer in the UK.

In a statement issued by the organisers before the event, Anat Shavit, who works in the biopharma industry in Cambridge, said, "I protest for Israeli democracy, as I believe in freedom, equality, and human rights, and I see, with great pain and shock, those values under attack by the current Israeli government.

The planned changes and legislation would, she claimed, "produce a de facto authoritarian regime, and this is something I believe the vast majority of Israelis do not support. 

"We will keep protesting and supporting our families and friends back in Israel, and believe the true spirit of Israel, the one reflected in the Declaration of Independence, will prevail."

Among the powers the Israeli government is looking to introduce is to overturn Supreme Court rulings by a Knesset majority.

Reuven Ziegler, an associate professor in Reading University's School of Law, said if the reforms were implemented, "Israel may retain a semblance of democratic governance by holding periodic elections, but its substantive content will have vanished. Given the severity of the threat to Israel's democratic character, it is vital to speak out - in all fora - against these dangerous proposals."

The organisers said that future events would be open to all supporters of Israel, "including those who are Shabbat observant".

Mr Regev said that, "We got calls from members of the Jewish community saying they would have loved to join but they couldn't."




Israeli ex-fighter pilot sparks controversy over remarks that appear to justify assassinating prime minister
Ze'ev Raz took part in Israel's daring mission to bomb Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor
https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/israeli-ex-fighter-pilot-sparks-controversy-over-remarks-that-appear-to-justify-assassinating-prime-minister-1Jx5ls8vUcGewO0tL3mE8z?reloadTime=1675614374954

A former Israeli fighter pilot who took part in the bombing of Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 has retracted social media comments appearing to justify the assassination of an Israeli prime minister.

Ze'ev Raz, who has been active in protests against the Israeli government;'s planned legal reforms, provoked an outcry when he posted on Facebook that a prime minister who assumed "dictatorial reforms" was "a dead man".

But according to the Times of Israel, he deleted the post the next day after outrage at his previous remarks.

Mr Raz had reportedly cited the concept in Jewish religious law of din rodef, in which a preemptive strike can be legitimate against someone who is intent on harm.

He wrote that if a leader behaves "in a dictatorial way, there is an obligation to kill them," the news site reported, although he did not mention Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu by name.

He had appeared to argue that allowing the judical reforms to go ahead could result in "a lot of innocent dead, and it is better to kill the criminals first".

According to ToI, the following day he rowed back from the remarks, saying that he had been quoting someone else who had made them and that he had deleted his post when that person had deleted the reference to din rodef.

In response to Mr Raz's original comments, Mr Netanyahu said there had been " a growing wave of incitement. Lines are being crossed every day, and it seemed like every boundary had already been crossed in threats on elected officials and on me.

"But clearly not, because today we heard and saw a clear threat to murder the prime minister of Israel."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid strongly condemned "the din rodef call against Netanyahu" while National Union leader Benny Gantz said, "No one has the license to incite, no matter how much they may have contributed to the country."

According to ToI, Mr Raz was detained for questioning by police on Sunday over the remarks.