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Israel’s defense minister calls to ‘stop the legislative process now’ on Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the courts
(JTA) — Israel’s defense minister called for a pause on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the country’s court system, dealing a potentially debilitating blow to proposals that have brought hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters into the streets and have drawn international criticism, including from President Joe Biden and other world leaders.
Yoav Gallant, in a dramatic, 6-minute televised address Saturday night as protesters once again filled streets throughout Israel, called for a suspension of the judicial legislation, whose first major component was due to go to a final vote next week that would pass it into law. Gallant spoke at a bare podium framed by two Israeli flags and wore an Israeli flag pin on his lapel.
“For the sake of Israel’s security, for the sake of our daughters and sons, we must stop the legislative process now to allow the people of Israel to celebrate the holidays of Passover and Independence Day together, and to mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day,” said Gallant, referencing Jewish and Israeli holidays that will take place over the course of the next month. “These are sacred days for us.”
Gallant is the most prominent ally of Netanyahu to come out against the judicial overhaul. He said that his call for a pause was spurred by the internal conflict the proposal is causing in the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces, where Gallant served as a senior general. IDF reservists have issued mounting threats that they will not report for duty if the overhaul passes, and some have already begun to absent themselves in protest.
Gallant called for broad-based negotiations over the proposal after the holidays are over, and said changes did need to be made to the judicial system. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has likewise called for dialogue and has put forward a compromise proposal.
“The growing rift in society is penetrating the IDF and the security forces,” said Gallant, who called himself a right-winger and dedicated member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party. “This is a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the country. That I cannot support.”
Two coalition lawmakers immediately voiced support for Gallant, and a third is reported to back him. Those defections — four members of Netanyahu’s 64-seat coalition, would deprive the measures of the support they need to pass in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.
Gallant also called for the protests to end, and stressed the need for an end to threats of defection from the IDF.
“We must stop the protests and reach a hand out for dialogue,” he said. “We must stop immediately any display of refusal [to serve], which erodes the strength of the IDF and harms the defense establishment. For our security and unity we must return to the arena of dialogue and remember that we are brothers.”
The law Netanyahu hoped to pass this coming week would increase the governing coalition’s control over Supreme Court appointments. Another separate piece of legislation would effectively remove the Supreme Court’s power to review laws.
The courts have been a bulwark protecting vulnerable populations in Israel, including Arabs, women, LGBTQ people and non-Orthodox Jews. Netanyahu, in explaining frustrations that led him to embrace the changes, has mentioned how the court stopped him in 2018 from carrying out planned mass deportations of tens of thousands of African refugees.
Supporters of the overhaul say it will allow the Knesset to more effectively represent the country’s right-wing majority. Critics of the changes say that the bills, should they become law, would concentrate much of the government’s power in the hands of a single entity: the coalition.
The appeal from Gallant, a decorated soldier who rose to the rank of southern commander, may be hard for Netanyahu to ignore. The prime minister reportedly had persuaded Gallant to nix a similar speech on Thursday. Instead, Netanyahu spoke that evening, and pledged to press ahead with the overhaul.
It’s not clear what the immediate trigger was for Gallant to change his mind and deliver the speech anyway. Reporters were given just a few minutes notice of his speech, and it came close to 9 p.m.
As soon as he was done, two other members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party joined Gallant in his appeal: Yuli Edelstein, a former Knesset speaker and Soviet Jewish refusenik, and David Bitan, Netanyahu’s most outspoken critic within the party. Likud lawmaker Avi Dichter, a former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, is also reported to back the pause.
Gallant is also the rare figure in Netanyahu’s government who has a close relationship with the Biden administration, which has kept Netanyahu at a distance since his election in November. He has played a critical role in working with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in mounting joint exercises seen as a deterrent to Iran — a country whose threats Gallant cited in his speech, along with other security challenges Israel faces.ֿ
Gallant ended his speech with a well-known quote from Psalms, quoted throughout Jewish liturgy: “God grant strength to his nation, God bless his nation with peace.”
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Contributor to Drop Site News Says Israelis Should ‘Be Removed From Our Planet’
Abubaker Abed reporting from Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
Abubaker Abed, a self-described Palestinian journalist and contributor to the far-left news outlet Drop Site News, has come under intense scrutiny following the circulation of social media posts in which he called for the “wiping out” of Israel and said that Israelis “mustn’t feel safe.”
The remarks, which quickly spread across multiple online platforms, have prompted widespread condemnation and renewed skepticism over the credibility and coverage of Drop Site News, a controversial publication fiercely critical of Israel and US foreign policy in the Middle East.
“Wiping out Israel off the planet is not enough revenge. Israelis mustn’t feel safe anymore. Haunt them and go after them where they go. These terrorist parasites must be removed from our planet,” Abed posted on an Instagram story.
Drop Site co-founder Ryan Grim responded to the incident by clarifying that Abed’s comments do not reflect the editorial position or institutional stance of his publication. Grim, a far-left investigative reporter who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, did not condemn the statements by Abed.
“We also are never going to police the language of anyone who survived a genocide,” Grim posted on X.
Abed, a social media influencer from Gaza who evacuated to Ireland during the Israel-Hamas war, has previously suggested that attacks on Jewish institutions might be justified if they signal support for Israel.
Following the recent attack on the Temple Beth Israel Synagogue in Michigan, Abed resurfaced a photo from the synagogue featuring an Israel soldier. Abed wrote that the attempted mass casualty event was justified because the assailant defended himself.
“A person is not criminally responsible if they act reasonably to defend themselves against an imminent and unlawful use of force,” Abed wrote in a since-deleted post on X. “Israel murdered his relatives and is illegally bombing and invading his country.”
The FBI said last week that the attack on the largest Jewish temple in Michigan was an “act of terrorism” inspired by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction.
Drop Site, a new media organization which debuted in July 2024, has found itself under immense criticism over its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the broader Middle East. The outlet has consistently characterized Israel as a “genocidal” aggressor stoking chaos and violence throughout the region.
Meanwhile, Drop Site depicts internationally recognized terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in a far more favorable light. Drop Site lead reporter Jeremy Scahill routinely refers to Hamas as “the resistance” and has given softball interviews to Hamas leaders.
Drop Site has also defended the Iranian regime from accusations of terrorism, asserting that Tehran’s goals “center on national sovereignty.” The site contends that Iran has “sought to project influence regionally through allied governments and forces (Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi, Iraqi Militants, etc.) what’s often called the ‘Axis of Resistance.’”
Some observers have raised alarm bells over the outlet’s growing popularity among establishment mainstream liberals. Ben Rhodes, a former Obama administration official and co-host of the popular “Pod Save America” podcast, has praised the outlet on his social media profile and confirmed he is a subscriber.
Drop Site’s expanding influence does not seem to be confined to left-wing or liberal ideological circles. Right-wing media personality Mike Cernovich contended on X that young conservatives are increasingly reading Drop Site “for Israel news.” Joe Kent, the former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, over the weekend reposted a Drop Site article pushing Iranian regime propaganda falsely claiming the US was actually trying to kill a downed American airman — just hours before he was dramatically rescued.
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Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, spurring backlash
(JTA) — A Frankfurt cinema’s decision not to participate in the local Jewish film festival is spurring allegations of antisemitism, even as its manager says the move was financial.
The Jewish Community of Frankfurt announced last week that the Astor Film Lounge did not wish to host movies during Jewish Film Days this year. The cinema, it said, had cited its workers’ reluctance to staff movies that are part of the biennial festival, as well as concerns about the security required to host Jewish events.
“The decision unequivocally signifies that Jewish life, Jewish people, and a Jewish media presence are no longer welcome at the Astor Film Lounge,” the community said in a statement.
“This line of reasoning is not only disappointing, but sends a devastating societal signal: If Jewish life and Jewish presence are suppressed out of fear of potential reactions, then this effectively amounts to a capitulation to antisemitic pressure,” the statement continued. “The fact that Jewish life can only take place under police protection is already shameful. That this necessity for police protection is now being used as a pretext to completely prevent Jewish events is a scandal.”
But the cinema’s managing director, Tom Flebbe, contested the Jewish Community of Frankfurt’s interpretation of events. In a statement cited in a leading local newspaper, he said the theater had withdrawn this year for economic reasons, as only 40 to 50 guests had come to screenings last year.
Flebbe said a lower-level manager had made unauthorized and inaccurate remarks about security concerns.
“Economic viability is a legitimate and necessary basis for business decisions — regardless of the thematic context of an event,” Flebbe said, adding that other joint projects with the Jewish community will continue as planned.
“The ASTOR Film Lounge MyZeil views Jewish life as a natural and welcome part of this society,” the statement concluded. “The decision against participating in the 2026 Jewish Film Days is not against Jewish people, Jewish culture, or Jewish presence. It is the result of a careful consideration of economic factors. We regret that our reasoning has been interpreted in this way and stand by our decision.”
During the 2024 festival, a half-dozen venues hosted screenings as part of Jewish Film Days. The Astor Film Lounge hosted one screening, of the film “March ’68,” a love story set during the Polish government’s antisemitic campaign following Israel’s Six-Day War.
Film festivals have emerged as a frontier for tensions over Israel and antisemitism. Germany’s largest film festival, the Berlinale, was roiled by tensions this year as its jury head fended off calls to criticize Israel. A major Toronto film festival, meanwhile, ruffled feathers last year by first canceling and then screening a documentary about the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. And a Jewish film festival was canceled in Malmo, Sweden, last year because too few cinemas would agree to show movies for it.
Flebbe’s explanation for why Astor Film Lounge would not participate in this year’s Jewish Film Days did not satisfy everyone who heard it. The Berlin-based German-Jewish Values Initiative, a non-partisan think tank, in an open letter called the economic justification a “mere pretext.”
“To the best of our knowledge, the Jewish Community of Frankfurt was prepared to guarantee a minimum revenue” for the film festival, the letter said. By apparently giving in to “threats and antisemitic pressure,” it added, the cinema has capitulated “to the very forces seeking to drive Jews out of the public sphere.”
The post Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, spurring backlash appeared first on The Forward.
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Israeli, Serbian leaders denounce antisemitic statements at Belgrade protest
(JTA) — Israeli and Serbian officials are denouncing antisemitic comments made by demonstrators during a clash between Serbian students and police at a protest last week.
“Death to Vučić and all the Jews around him,” one protester said in a televised interview, referring to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. “Long live Serbia.”
The protest last Tuesday marked the latest flashpoint in a series of anti-government protests that have erupted across the country over the past year after 16 people died in an accident at a railway station in November 2024. Hundreds of students participated in the protest, which came as Serbian police searched the offices of the University of Belgrade as part of an investigation into the death of a female student. The school’s leadership claimed that the investigation was an “attack on the university” for its support for the student-led protest movement.
Serbia and Israel first established diplomatic relations in 1948, and Vučić told the Jerusalem Post last year that the country “will always appreciate, respect, and like the Jewish people and Israel.”
Nemanja Starović, the Serbian minister of European integration and the chair of Serbia’s delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, called on the protest leaders to “unambiguously condemn these antisemitic incidents and to immediately remove all antisemitic messages and slogans from university premises.”
“On multiple occasions over the past months, we have warned about the widespread antisemitic ideology within the so-called blockade movement at universities in Serbia,” Starović wrote in a post on X. “Ignoring this dangerous threat has allowed it to escalate into open calls for murder, which now appear as a logical and inevitable outcome.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the demonstrator’s comments in a post on X.
“Israel strongly condemns the reprehensible antisemitic calls made yesterday in Belgrade,” the post read. “Israel appreciates the Serbian government’s immediate condemnation of these calls and its firm and consistent stance in the fight against antisemitism.”
Efraim Zuroff, the director of the Israel Office and Eastern European Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, also condemned the antisemitic rhetoric in a Times of Israel op-ed.
“One gets the impression that this is a politically motivated to harm President Aleksandar Vučić, who has close ties with the State of Israel, key Jewish organizations such as AIPAC and the Serbian Jewish community,” Zuroff wrote. “That is completely unacceptable! If these things are not stopped, they will end up in dangerous violence, and therefore cannot be ignored.”
The controversy over the protest comes as antisemitism has surged in Europe in recent years. Last September, Serbia arrested 11 individuals accused of perpetrating hate-motivated acts in France and Germany, including throwing green paint on the Holocaust Museum, several synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
The post Israeli, Serbian leaders denounce antisemitic statements at Belgrade protest appeared first on The Forward.