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Zionist youth group Young Judaea expresses ‘great concern’ over Israel’s proposed court reform
(JTA) — The North American Zionist youth group Young Judaea is expressing “great concern” over Israel’s proposed judicial reform and calling on the country’s lawmakers safeguard minority rights and a system of checks and balances.
Young Judaea joins a growing number of pro-Israel American Jewish groups cautioning against the controversial court legislation in its current form. Young Judaea has existed for more than a century and describes itself as “the oldest Zionist youth movement in the United States.”
The court reform seeks to give the governing coalition full control over Supreme Court appointments and all but eliminate the court’s ability to strike down laws. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to oppose the overhaul. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, gave a speech earlier this month beseeching the government to enter negotiations with the parliamentary opposition and compromise over some of the plan’s provisions, warning of “constitutional and societal collapse.”
That call appeared to open the floodgates for Diaspora Jewish groups who typically do not criticize the Israeli government. Young Judea’s statement endorsed Herzog’s call for compromise while declaring that it “solemnly reaffirms its commitment to the State of Israel, its security, prosperity, and integrity.”
“We have watched with great concern the recent initiative by the Israeli government to radically change the Israeli judicial system and we have witnessed the broad-based opposition to this initiative by Israelis,” reads the statement, which was sent in an email to the group’s membership and alumni on Thursday. “We urge all Members of the Knesset to seek compromise, not conflict; understanding, not threats; while demonstrating an unwavering commitment towards a democratic Israel, protecting minority rights, and maintaining checks and balances.”
Earlier this week, the Jewish Federations of North America came out in opposition to a provision of the legislation allowing a bare majority of Israeli lawmakers to override judicial review. The leading organizations of the Conservative and Reform movements also oppose the plan. The Anti-Defamation League has endorsed Herzog’s call for negotiations.
Proponents of the legislation say it will curb the court’s liberal excesses and allow lawmakers to better reflect the wishes of Israel’s electorate. But critics of the proposal worry that giving Israel’s right-wing governing coalition unfettered power over the courts will endanger minority groups and civil rights protections. In addition, a range of legal scholars and public intellectuals have criticized the proposal, warning that it will damage Israel’s democratic standing.
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Lebanon Plans UN Complaint Against Israel Over Border Wall
A UN vehicle drives near a concrete wall along Lebanon’s southern border which, according to the Lebanese presidency, extends beyond the “Blue Line”, a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as seen from northern Israel, November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem
Lebanon will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council against Israel for constructing a concrete wall along Lebanon’s southern border that extends beyond the “Blue Line,” the Lebanese presidency said on Saturday.
The Blue Line is a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli forces withdrew to the Blue Line when they left south Lebanon in 2000.
A spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, said on Friday the wall has made more than 4,000 square meters (nearly an acre) of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the local population.
The Lebanese presidency echoed his remarks, saying in a statement that Israel’s ongoing construction constituted “a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and an infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Dujarric said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had requested that the wall be removed.
An Israeli military spokesperson denied on Friday that the wall crossed the Blue Line.
“The wall is part of a broader IDF plan whose construction began in 2022,” the spokesperson said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Since the start of the war, and as part of lessons learned from it, the IDF has been advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the northern border.”
UNIFIL, established in 1978, operates between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south. The mission has more than 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civilian staff, according to its website.
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Iran Says US Is Not Ready for ‘Equal and Fair’ Nuclear Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Washington’s current approach toward Tehran does not indicate any readiness for “equal and fair negotiations,” Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump hinted last week at potential discussions.
Following Israel’s attack on Iran in June, which was joined by U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, attempts at renewing dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear program have failed.
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran and Washington underwent five rounds of indirect nuclear talks prior to the 12-days-war, but faced obstacles such as the issue of domestic uranium enrichment, which the U.S. wants Iran to forego.
“The U.S. cannot expect to gain what it couldn’t in war through negotiations,” Abbas Araqchi said during a Tehran conference named “international law under assault.”
“Iran will always be prepared to engage in diplomacy, but not negotiations meant for dictation,” he added.
During the same conference, deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh accused Washington of pursuing its wartime goals with “negotiations as a show.”
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Israeli Government Decides ‘Independent’ Commission to Investigate Oct. 7 Failures
The Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – The Israeli government has approved the creation of an “independent” commission of inquiry to examine the failures that enabled the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023.
However, in a move sharply criticized by the opposition and contrary to the recommendation of the Supreme Court, the panel will not be a formal state commission of inquiry. Instead, its mandate, authorities, and scope will be determined directly by government ministers.
According to the decision, the commission will receive full investigative powers and must be composed in a way that ensures “the broadest possible public trust.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will form a special ministerial committee tasked with defining what the inquiry may investigate, the time periods to be reviewed, and the authority it will receive. The committee has 45 days to deliver its recommendations.
For the past year, the government has repeatedly resisted calls to establish a state commission, arguing at first that such a body could not operate during wartime. Later, some ministers accused Supreme Court President Isaac Amit of being incapable of appointing an impartial chairperson.
But on October 15, the High Court of Justice ruled that there was “no substantive argument” against forming a state commission, giving the government 30 days to respond.
Netanyahu maintains that responsibility for the October 7 failures lies primarily with Israel’s security agencies rather than with political leaders.
His critics accuse him of creating a weaker, government-controlled inquiry designed to limit scrutiny of his decisions, undermining the prospect of full accountability for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.