RSS
In unprecedented decision, Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down law limiting its power
(JTA) — The Israeli Supreme Court has struck down a law that limited its power, an unprecedented decision nixing the one piece of legislation passed under the right-wing government’s effort to weaken the judiciary.
The 8-7 decision published on Monday returns the fight over Israel’s court system to the fore after a months-long pause due to Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, debate over the government’s judicial overhaul had riven the country, leading to massive protests and civil disobedience over what opponents said was a bid to undermine Israeli democracy.
Amid that civil strife, the government passed a law in July removing the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government decisions it deems “unreasonable,” a power used in the past as a check on executive power. The law was an amendment to one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, and it passed without any votes from the opposition. The court heard challenges to it later in the year.
Monday’s decision marks the first time for the court ever to strike down a Basic Law. While the specific law was struck down by a narrow majority, 13 of 15 justices wrote that the court does possess the authority to strike down Basic Laws. In the decision, former Chief Justice Esther Hayut wrote that the law was “extreme and irregular” and said it “departs from the foundational authorities of the Knesset, and therefore it must be struck down.”
The decision moves Israel closer to a potential constitutional crisis, a scenario in which a country experiences an unsolvable dispute between two branches of government, at a delicate moment. Ahead of the court decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not said explicitly that his government would obey a court ruling striking down the law.
Ministers in his government immediately criticized the decision, as well as the court’s decision to publish it during wartime. Netanyahu’s Likud Party called the decision “unfortunate” and said the court should not have ruled on an issue “at the heart of the societal disagreement in Israel when IDF soldiers from right and left are fighting and endangering their lives,” according to the Times of Israel.
“The decision of the Supreme Court judges to publish the court decision during wartime is the opposite of the spirit of unity needed these days for the success of our soldiers on the front,” wrote Justice Minister Yariv Levin, an architect of the judicial overhaul effort, on Facebook. “In practice, the judges have taken all of the authorities, which in a democratic regime are split in a balanced way between three branches of government.”
Israeli politicians on the center and left celebrated the decision. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, wrote on X, “The source of the state of Israel’s strength, the basis of Israeli power, is the fact that we are a Jewish, democratic, liberal, law-abiding state. The Supreme Court faithfully performed its duty today to protect Israel’s citizens.”
On X, Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist National Unity Party and a member of an emergency war cabinet, wrote that “the court decision must be respected.”
—
The post In unprecedented decision, Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down law limiting its power appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Germany’s Halt to Arms Exports to Israel Is Response to Gaza Expansion Plans, Chancellor Says
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
Germany’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel comes in response to Israel’s plan to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
“We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means,” Merz said. “We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so.”
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to take this historically fraught step.
The chancellor said in the interview that the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and would require the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza.
“Where are these people supposed to go?” Merz said. “We can’t do that, we won’t do that, and I will not do that.”
Nevertheless, the principles of Germany’s Israel policy remain unchanged, the chancellor said.
“Germany has stood firmly by Israel’s side for 80 years. That will not change,” Merz said.
Germany is Israel’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
RSS
Newsom Calls Trump’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer Extortion, Says California Won’t Bow
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump’s administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow.
The University of California says it is reviewing a $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA after the government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over pro-Palestinian protests.
UCLA, which is part of the University of California system, said this week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over anti-Israel student protests.
“Donald Trump has weaponized the DOJ (Department of Justice) to kneecap America’s #1 public university system — freezing medical & science funding until @UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom,” the office of Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post.
“California won’t bow to Trump’s disgusting political extortion,” it added.
“This isn’t about protecting Jewish students – it’s a billion-dollar political shakedown from the pay-to-play president.”
The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests and in doing so violated Jewish and Israeli students’ civil rights. The White House had no immediate comment beyond the offer.
Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president’s threats. The University of California says paying such a large settlement would “completely devastate” the institution.
Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters.
RSS
Trump Nominates State Dept Spokeswoman Bruce as US Deputy Representative to UN
FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during her first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations.
Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January.
In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a “fantastic job” as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority.
During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory.
Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years.
She has also authored books like “Fear Itself: Exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda” that criticized liberals and left-leaning viewpoints.
In a post after Trump’s announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a “few weeks” away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts.
“Now I’m blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post,” Bruce wrote on X.
Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his U.N. envoy. Waltz’s Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce’s boss, is still due.
Waltz was Trump’s national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his U.N. ambassador.