Civil war in Israhell?

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'Don't drag Israel into civil war': Ultra-Orthodox party urges ex-minister over military draft bill
https://www.rt.com/news/460314-israel-shas-lieberman-draft-law/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Israel's ultra-Orthodox party has called on former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman not to "drag Israel into civil war" by refusing to back down on a bill that would include Haredi men in the mandatory military draft.

"We are calling on Lieberman not to drag Israel into civil war," Shas said in a statement that accused the ex-minister of "not telling the truth about the draft law" and using it as an "excuse to topple the right-wing government." Their criticism echoes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's earlier sentiments on the issue. 

Netanyahu has until Wednesday to form a coalition government after April's elections left his Likud Party short of enough seats. Yisrael Beiteinu chair Lieberman has said he would only form a government with Likud if the bill about ultra-Orthodox conscription was passed in the Knesset. Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students are currently able to defer from the Israel Defense Forces draft.

Shas said Lieberman's unwillingness to change a "comma or word" in the law makes it "clear that he is not interested in any substantive solution or discussion, but all he wants is to obstruct the establishment of a government."

Netanyahu believes Lieberman doesn't really want to enter a government with him and that he's trying to anger the ultra-Orthodox parties so that they won't compromise on the contentious military draft bill, which would force a new election, Haaretz reports. Likud claims it's an attempt to turn the debate into a war over religion, saying that the ultra-Orthodox may have been willing to compromise, but now are too angry to back down.

Lieberman denies this, writing on Facebook that his party "said in a clear and public manner that we would only support Netanyahu as the candidate to form the government," and that it "rejected every offer" it got from other parties.

He said that Likud should be pressuring the main opponent of the bill, United Torah Judaism's Yaakov Litzman.

The bill passed its first of three readings in the last Knesset in July. It places eventual financial penalties on religious schools that fail to send a quota of yeshiva students to the military. The religious parties want the bill to be softened.

Lieberman quit Likud in November after Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas, and the PM reportedly believes his former defense minister is taking a tough stance on the draft bill because Netanyahu wouldn't agree to change his Gaza policy when the pair met after the elections.




Thousands of Israelis protest immunity bill that would shield Netanyahu from indictment (PHOTOS)
click here to see the photos:  https://www.rt.com/news/460281-israel-protests-netanyahu-immunity/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv, rallying against the recently tabled immunity bill that would shield Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from mounting corruption investigations.

The 'Defensive Shield for Democracy' demonstration showed rare unity among nearly all parties in the Israeli opposition. The number of protesters remains unclear, with footage from the scene showing considerable crowds. Organizers say at least 80,000 people took part.

Protesters carried placards criticizing Netanyahu and his alleged corruption, sporting the PM's 'Crime Minister' moniker in various forms. Many showed up wearing Ottoman-style fez headwear and even brought portraits of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, alluding to Netanyahu creating what they called an "Erdogan-style dictatorship."

"The fez symbolizes the regime type that we are opposing, where everything is controlled by one person and people are afraid to express their opinions. That's where we're headed," one protester told Haaretz.

Netanyahu has been in office for a decade, and secured his fifth term in April amid three ongoing investigations into his alleged corruption, bribery and fraud. The PM denies the charges, insisting they are politically-motivated. He also said he has no plans to step down even if charged.

While the probes have apparently done nothing to dull Netanyahu's drive for power, members of his Likud party tabled a bill that would grant government officials legal immunity by default. If the proposed legislation is adopted, it will not be possible to charge elected officials with a criminal offense unless the 120-member Knesset and the Knesset House Committee decide to waive immunity.

The bill effectively reverses the system already in place in Israel – currently, the Knesset and the House Committee have the power to grant official immunity from prosecution.