This post has been updated—see an added section for abortion, under Gilead—since publication.
Illiberalism
Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.
Here’s the threat:
Another Shas minister, Yaakov Margi, told Israel’s public radio hours before the court ruling on Wednesday [January 18] that “[Binyamin] Netanyahu knows that if [Aryeh] Deri is not in the government, there is no government.” He later softened the threat, saying that he personally would recommend that Shas withdraw from the government if Mr. Deri could not be a minister.[1]
As yet, the follow-through seems, ahem, muted:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed top ally Aryeh Deri from the cabinet on Sunday [January 22], in a move expected to trigger political uncertainty despite being mandated by the High Court of Justice and advocated by the attorney general. . . .
It’s unclear who will replace Deri in the interior and health ministries. Normally, when a minister quits, his portfolios automatically revert to the prime minister for a temporary period until a new minister is appointed. But since Netanyahu is under criminal indictment in connection to a separate corruption investigation, he is blocked by law from holding any cabinet seat sans the premiership.[2]
If the Israeli government has collapsed, I haven’t seen any report of it. But we can hope. As for Aryeh Deri,
Responding to his dismissal, [Aryeh] Deri said that after the court decision “it was clear” to both himself and [Binyamin] Netanyahu that he would leave the government, but that he would not be withdrawing from political life. “No judicial decision will prevent me from serving and representing” the 400,000-odd Shas voters who gave his ultra-Orthodox party 11 Knesset seats in November’s elections, he said.[3]
A push to limit the Israeli judiciary’s powers[4] that has belatedly led me to count Israel as an illiberal regime (a designation Israel also earns with disenfranchised Palestinians under occupation) must be seen in the context of Binyamin Netanyahu’s[5] and Aryeh Deri’s[6] legal troubles. It obviously depends upon some semblance of the current coalition remaining in power.
Carrie Keller-Lynn, “Netanyahu fires Deri ‘with a heavy heart’ after High Court nixes convicted minister,” Times of Israel, January 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-deri-with-a-heavy-heart-after-high-court-nixes-convicted-minister/
Gilead
Got some stories here that are at the very limit of my tolerance for old news in the Irregular Bullshit, but there’s more than one, and while the news media focus on yet another mass shooting—sorry, but it will be news if the U.S. ever actually does something about gun nuttery—it’s a painfully slow news day.
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Philip Bump, “Under oath, Trump is confronted with his ‘hoax’ hyperbole,” Washington Post, January 19, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/19/trump-defamation-suit-hoax/
David Badash, “‘Full retreat mode’: Trump drops suit against NY AG Letitia James day after judge fines him nearly $1 million,” Alternet, January 20, 2023, https://www.alternet.org/the-right-wing/letitia-james-trump/
Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[7] fair use.
Lora Kolodny, “Twitter is down to fewer than 550 full-time engineers,” CNBC, January 20, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/20/twitter-is-down-to-fewer-than-550-full-time-engineers.html
Abortion
Fig. 1. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
David G. Savage, “Supreme Court says it cannot determine who leaked draft abortion opinion last year,” Los Angeles Times, January 19, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-19/supreme-court-did-not-find-leaker-of-abortion-opinion
Jackie Hajdenberg, “5 rabbis sue state of Missouri over abortion bans on religious freedom grounds,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 20, 2023, https://www.jta.org/2023/01/20/united-states/5-rabbis-sue-state-of-missouri-over-abortion-bans-on-religious-freedom-grounds
Ruth Marcus, “Does Dobbs violate the establishment clause?” Washington Post, January 20, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/20/abortion-dobbs-establishment-clause-sotomayor/
- [1]Isabel Kershner, “Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Removal of Netanyahu Minister,” New York Times, January 18, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/world/middleeast/israel-aryeh-deri-netanyahu.html↩
- [2]Carrie Keller-Lynn, “Netanyahu fires Deri ‘with a heavy heart’ after High Court nixes convicted minister,” Times of Israel, January 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-deri-with-a-heavy-heart-after-high-court-nixes-convicted-minister/↩
- [3]Carrie Keller-Lynn, “Netanyahu fires Deri ‘with a heavy heart’ after High Court nixes convicted minister,” Times of Israel, January 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-deri-with-a-heavy-heart-after-high-court-nixes-convicted-minister/↩
- [4]David Horovitz, “Hanukkah 2022, when Netanyahu began turning out the lights on Israeli democracy,” Times of Israel, January 1, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/hanukkah-2022-when-netanyahu-began-turning-out-the-lights-on-israeli-democracy/; Jeremy Sharon, “Justice minister unveils plan to shackle the High Court, overhaul Israel’s judiciary,” Times of Israel, January 4, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/justice-minister-unveils-plan-to-shackle-the-high-court-overhaul-israels-judiciary/↩
- [5]Steve Hendrix and Ruth Eglash, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, breach of trust,” Washington Post, November 21, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-indicted-on-charges-of-bribery-fraud-breach-of-trust/2019/11/21/ef396fee-0bc2-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html; Raoul Wootliff, “AG announces Netanyahu to stand trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust,” Times of Israel, November 21, 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-announces-netanyahu-to-stand-trial-for-bribery-fraud-and-breach-of-trust/; Raoul Wootliff, “Netanyahu indicted for corruption in three cases, in first for a sitting PM,” Times of Israel, January 28, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-indicted-for-corruption-in-three-cases-in-first-for-a-sitting-pm/↩
- [6]Carrie Keller-Lynn, “Netanyahu fires Deri ‘with a heavy heart’ after High Court nixes convicted minister,” Times of Israel, January 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-fires-deri-with-a-heavy-heart-after-high-court-nixes-convicted-minister/; Isabel Kershner, “Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Removal of Netanyahu Minister,” New York Times, January 18, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/world/middleeast/israel-aryeh-deri-netanyahu.html↩
- [7]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩