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Friedman: Netanyahu is no longer at the wheel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has said that the only way the war in Gaza will end is with the complete destruction of Hamas, the pro-Palestinian terrorist group that controls Gaza and was behind the October 7 attack.
But Pulitzer prize-winning author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that much of the horror that's played out in Gaza over the past six months goes back to a devil's bargain that Bibi has maintained with Hamas over the past fifteen years. "Netanyahu always understood that ... having a strong Hamas in Gaza is the best way to ensure a weak Palestinian Authority in the West Bank." In a wide-ranging interview for this week's episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Friedman to try to chart out an imaginable (and palatable) ending to the Middle East's bloodiest war in years. "[Netanyahu] is now hostage to a far-right in his coalition that has told him that anything that smacks of a Palestinian state or even progress toward a Palestinian state...is a no-go. We'll throw you out of power.'"
So what can people do who consider themselves both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian? "The most important thing you can do to be pro-Israeli, " Friedman tells Bremmer, "...is to be for the removal of Bibi Netanyahu by the Israeli people." And the most pro-Palestinian thing you can do? "Be against Hamas and for the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah....Because if that project succeeds or makes progress, many more things are possible in terms of what can happen between the Israelis and Palestinians."
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
- Netanyahu: “Now is the time for war” ›
- Netanyahu escalates feud with the White House ›
- Yuval Noah Harari: Netanyahu's 'Deep State' fears enabled Oct 7 attack ›
- Netanyahu and Hamas both won, Israelis and Palestinians lost ›
- Why Israel's Netanyahu continues to antagonize Biden on Gaza - GZERO Media ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu hostage to far-right coalition, says author Friedman - GZERO Media ›
- Israelis push Netanyahu for ceasefire after Hamas kills hostages - GZERO Media ›
Yuval Noah Harari: Netanyahu's 'Deep State' fears enabled Oct 7 attack
Author and historian Yuval Noah Harari believes that the Israeli government's policies under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed for Hamas’ Oct 7 attack to be as deadly as it was. He points specifically to Netanyahu's efforts to undermine the judiciary and other democratic institutions.
“He was trying to systematically destroy the institutions of Israeli democracy,” Harari tells Ian Bremmer in a live interview at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. He links these domestic political maneuvers to the failure to heed warnings from military and intelligence services about external threats leading up to October 7, arguing that this negligence was influenced by conspiracy theories about a so-called “deep state.”
The problem, Harari says, goes deeper than Netanyahu. He talks about the ideological infighting within the Israeli government as a battle for the country's soul and for Judaism itself. He contrasts the principles of Zionism with those of a rising messianic movement that espouses Jewish supremacy, warning of the dire implications should this faction's vision of a deeply stratified society. “This will change the very meaning of Judaism all over the world.”
So what kind of outcome could both Israelis and Palestinians live with? Harari advocates for defending Israel's right to exist while also ensuring Palestinian rights. He rejects the notion that these positions are mutually exclusive, arguing for a future where both Israelis and Palestinians can live dignified lives within their homelands. “Just because you are in favor of the rights of Palestinians doesn’t mean you have to be also in favor of destroying Israel completely.”
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
- How Netanyahu used Hamas to avoid talks of a two-state solution ›
- Netanyahu’s failed Gaza strategy ›
- Why the Israel-Hamas war is so divisive ›
- Ian Bremmer: Understanding the Israel-Hamas war ›
- Israel, Hamas and US in impasse over cease-fire deal - GZERO Media ›
- Why the world isn't fair: Yuval Noah Harari on AI, Ukraine, and Gaza - GZERO Media ›
- Israel's global image wanes further after killing of aid workers - GZERO Media ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu hostage to far-right coalition, says author Friedman - GZERO Media ›
- Why Israel's Netanyahu continues to antagonize Biden on Gaza - GZERO Media ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu hostage to far-right coalition, says author Friedman - GZERO Media ›
- What will Israel's invasion of Rafah look like? - GZERO Media ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Who is responsible for Gaza's enormous civilian death toll? - GZERO Media ›
China replaces foreign minister Qin Gang
Is democracy dead in Israel? Will a fugitive decide Spain's next prime minister? What does Qin Gang's removal say about China? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
Is democracy dead in Israel?
No, not at all. It's very much alive. It's precisely the fact there has been such an extraordinary outcry among so many Israeli citizens and completely peaceful, mind you, over so many months because they're not happy with the efforts to reform, and by reform, I mean, undermine Israel's independent judiciary. The first piece of that that has passed in the last 24 hours is by itself certainly not a death knell for democracy, though it probably would allow Netanyahu to appoint cabinet members that could allow him to no longer face jeopardy from these corruption cases that have been against him. If they persist with the next couple of pieces of legislation that would allow the Knesset, the legislature, to overturn with a simple majority, a judicial decision, that would be a much more significant threat to democracy. We'll see how that plays out over the fall, but certainly this is going to impact the economy, society, and the rest.
Will a fugitive decide Spain's next prime minister?
No, what's happened is that Prime Minister Sanchez recognized that by calling early elections, he could make everybody worry about the far-right Vox party and that if they went down in the polls, there was a shot for him to stay on his PM. That has played out pretty well. The center-right in Spain has done much better, but they don't have enough votes to create a parliament because they don't have a majority and that's because Vox has fallen apart. They're talking about like, anti-woke politics at a time when everyone wants to talk about the economy and people increasingly worried about climate change. So, Vox got destroyed. What's probably going to happen is, can't get a majority and so you'll have to have yet another election. We'll play this out again in the fall.
Finally, what does Qin Gang's removal say about China?
This is the former, now former foreign minister, pretty clear he was going to be out. We haven't heard from him at all in four weeks. China said he was ill for a couple days then didn't. There've been all these rumors and scandals around him. And the reason I thought he was out is because Chinese state media was not trying to repress all of the social commentary about those rumors at any point in the last couple weeks. And given that he was a Xi Jinping direct appointee and skyrocketed and how fast he was able to get the appointment, it was pretty clear there were serious problems. But I don't think this changes foreign policy in China, one whit. I was talking to the US ambassador to the UN the other day, has been dealing with the Chinese ambassador all the way through and she's like, "Nah, he's still been engaging with me as he normally does," so it's bad news for him, but no change for Chinese policy.
- Israel’s divisive judicial reforms becoming law ›
- Netanyahu faces national unrest after judicial reform vote ›
- Who will govern Spain? ›
- Ahead of the Spanish election, the political pendulum is swinging right ›
- Hard Numbers: Britain seeks bricklayers, Pentagon loses secrets to a typo, Cameroon separatists attack, where has Qin Gang gone? ›
- Where is China's foreign minister? ›
Israeli demonstrators take part in a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Netanyahu faces national unrest after judicial reform vote
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu addressed a nation in uproar on Monday after lawmakers passed a bill limiting the power of the Supreme Court. The decision, which Netanyahu said was the will of the voters, is being met with mass protests, legal challenges, and potential military and labor strikes from Israelis who fear it will erode democratic norms.
The law restricts the supreme court’s oversight of government decisions based on their reasonableness and of cabinet and ministerial selections. It passed the 120-seat parliament in a 64-0 vote, with every member of Netanyahu’s coalition voting in favor and every opposition lawmaker walking out in protest.
Demonstrators responded by blocking the road outside the Knesset. Police pushed back, spraying them with water cannons. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 military reservists are threatening to refuse to report for duty, which could jeopardize national security. Simultaneously, 150 businesses shuttered their doors, and Israel's largest labor union is threatening to strike.
On Tuesday, doctors began a 24-hour strike and black ads placed by tech sector workers covered some newspaper front pages.
What’s next? Expect protests to continue over the coming days, perhaps leading to clashes with police.
Monday’s vote was over the first of three proposals to curb the power of the judiciary. Up next, Bibi’s far-right government hopes to give the Knesset the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority and give the government power over the appointment of judges. In his speech, Netanyahu suggested he would table the next two proposals until late November in an attempt to quell the protests.Demonstrators are sprayed with water from a water cannon during a demonstration against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul in Jerusalem.
Israel’s divisive judicial reforms becoming law
On Monday, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) passed the first bill of PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform bill.
Many Israelis were not happy about it. Police used a water cannon to disperse anti-government activists who had chained themselves outside the building, while President Isaac Herzog failed to negotiate a last-minute compromise. Banks, the influential tech sector, and part of the military have joined the protest against the divisive legislation.
Bibi was just released from the hospital, where on Sunday he underwent emergency pacemaker surgery after a heart-monitoring device detected a temporary arrhythmia. Before Netanyahu, 73, was briefly sedated, he temporarily handed power over to his top deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Levin is considered the architect of the overhaul, which would curb the High Court’s power to overrule administrative decisions, including a nine-member committee that selects judges. Critics say the law would give the ruling far-right coalition carte blanche on court appointments, and enable Bibi to interfere with his ongoing corruption trial. (He denies this and insists the reforms are necessary to curb the powers of an activist judiciary.)
Popular opposition to the bill peaked over the weekend, as throngs of Israelis flooded the streets of Jerusalem for a 29th straight week of protests, some after marching for five days from Tel Aviv. A growing number of reservists say they will not report to duty if the reforms become law, and several former army top brass, police commissioners, and intelligence chiefs penned a public letter to Netanyahu, accusing him of being “directly responsible for the serious harm” to Israel’s security.
But Bibi is unlikely to cave to any pressure. He knows that his fragile coalition government is toast if he doesn’t push ahead with the reforms.People block a highway to Jerusalem on a day of disturbance to protest against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul.
A crucial vote on the judiciary in Israel
On Tuesday, Israelis opposed to the government's judicial overhaul blocked highways leading to the country's main cities as part of a national day of disturbance the day after the Knesset (parliament) passed the first part of a legislative package designed to dilute the power of the judiciary.
At the heart of the bill – which still needs two more parliamentary votes to pass – is the “reasonableness” clause. If enacted, the clause would prevent the High Court from overriding government decisions the judges deem to be unreasonable. This provision applies to administrative issues (like ministerial appointments) but not legislation.
This is a top legislative priority for the far-right government led by PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Consider that earlier this year, Israel’s High Court ruled that a senior member of the Netanyahu government could not serve in the cabinet because he had previously vowed to exit politics as part of a plea deal linked to corruption charges. While the court deemed the appointment a violation of the reasonable standard, the government said this move reflected the court’s activist streak.
Israelis have doubled down on protests in recent days, including in the halls of the Knesset. The last time this happened, the big labor unions joined in, causing Israel’s international airport to shutter for a day, and bringing Israel’s economy to a standstill. With his back against the wall, Netanyahu then called for a cooling-off period, putting the judicial overhaul on the back burner for several months.
But analysts say that the government would fall if Bibi drags his feet again, something the PM is loath to let happen. In the meantime, demonstrations, public disruption, and military holdouts are only getting more pronounced.Israeli protesters holding banners with the words in Hebrew "resist" and "the main thing is not to be afraid at all" in a demonstration against the government's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv.
Hard Numbers: Israeli judicial protest, Chinese deflation, Dutch government collapse, deadly Sudan airstrike, Russia-Turkey beef over Azov
150,000: Some 150,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose PM Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plans, the biggest turnout since Bibi called a time-out on his controversial reforms back in March. The months-long protest movement — which had been faltering in recent weeks — got a second wind after Bibi sacked Tel Aviv's police chief for being too lenient with the demonstrators. Israeli lawmakers will conduct the first reading of the reforms this week.
0.2: China's consumer price index stayed flat year-on-year in June and declined 0.2% from last month, putting the world's second largest economy at serious risk of deflation. This will likely trigger interest rate cuts and calls for fiscal stimulus to awaken the economy from its post-Zero COVID slumber.
2: On Monday, the Dutch parliament will meet for the first time since the collapse of the coalition government last week. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who’s quitting politics but will stay on as caretaker until a new election, threw in the towel after his coalition partners balked at a proposal to make the children of war refugees wait two years before being allowed to join their parents in the Netherlands.
22: At least 22 people died early Saturday in a Sudanese army airstrike in Omdurman, a major city across the Nile River from the capital of Khartoum. Since mid-April, Sudan has been in a state of de facto civil war as the army and a powerful paramilitary group struggle for power.
👉 Learn more about why the conflict erupted here and its regional fallout here.
5: Russia is fuming at Turkey after Ankara allowed five commanders of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Azov unit (sent there under a prisoner-exchange pact with Moscow) to return to Ukraine. This might affect a new extension of the Turkey-brokered agreement to export Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports, which Moscow wants to scuttle when the deal expires on July 17.
Ehud Barak interview: Israeli democracy on the chopping block
Israel's delicate balance between democracy and political power is under threat, as the government's proposed judiciary overhaul poses a significant risk to the checks and balances of its political system.
On GZERO World, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak warns that the judicial overhaul, backed by coalition members, would undermine the independence of the courts and leave the executive branch unchecked. Barak describes current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet as legal but "illegitimate," with a "black flag waving over it." It's no surprise, he says, that it has been sparking protests nationwide.
Note: This interview was first featured in the GZERO World episode "How Bibi could end Israel's democracy (or get ousted)," published on May 8, 2023.
As Israel marks Memorial Day and Independence Day back-to-back, Barak underscores the high cost the country has paid for its existence and its willingness to do so again. Meanwhile, Netanyahu faces a difficult choice between jeopardizing Israel's democracy, national identity, and economy by pushing forward with the judicial reform agenda, or risking losing the support of his far-right coalition.
- How Bibi could end Israel's democracy (or get ousted) ›
- Israel's judicial reform could destroy democracy from within, says former PM Ehud Barak ›
- Israel's government legal but not legitimate, says former PM Ehud Barak ›
- Podcast: Why Netanyahu critic Ehud Barak calls Israel's government "clearly illegitimate" ›
- Ian Explains: Why Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at Camp David came close but failed in 2020 - GZERO Media ›
- Podcast: The path to a two-state solution for Israel & Palestine: Former PM Ehud Barak's perspective - GZERO Media ›