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Comment by neoromantique

3 days ago

Anything to say on the substance of the comment?

Sure, I have already made a lot of them in the context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Sorry, it's just tiring to repeat the same things all the time in these threads.

So the assertion that these parties hold "little power" is contradicted by their significant roles in the government. Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, was appointed to a newly created ministry position granting him authority over the state's police force. Ben-Gvir, a former follower of extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, has a history of incitement and inflammatory remarks towards Israel's Arab population. [1] Such appointments indicate that these parties have substantial influence within the coalition, as without them there is no coalition anymore. These parties have successfully advocated for policies aligning with their agendas. The coalition agreement with the Religious Zionist Party includes commitments to expand settlements in the West Bank and to work towards applying Israeli sovereignty over these territories.[6] Which contradicts what OP stated.

As to the claim that the government is merely "trying to reform Israel's supreme court system" overlooks the implications of these reforms. The proposed changes aim to shift power from the judiciary to the Knesset majority coalition, including an "override clause" that would allow the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority vote.[2][3][4]

There are reports of increased government influence over media outlets, with certain channels promoting nationalistic agendas aligned with the Prime Minister's views.[5]

1. https://www.jta.org/2022/12/21/israel/whos-who-in-israels-ne...

2. https://www.cpreview.org/articles/2023/2/judicial-reform-in-...

3. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/09/ne...

4. https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20230106-four-ways-netanya...

5. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/01/20/netanyahus-med...

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-seventh_government_of_I...