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Israeli government advances legislation that could all but eliminate judicial review
(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition advanced a second major piece of its proposed court reform, holding an initial vote in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on a measure that would allow the government to all but eliminate judicial review.
It also advanced a bill that would prohibit the Supreme Court to disqualify government ministers from serving. The bill was proposed after the Supreme Court ruled that Aryeh Deri, head of the Sephardi haredi Orthodox Shas Party, could not serve as a minister due to repeated criminal convictions. A third bill that advanced past an initial vote would prohibit Israeli hospitals from serving leavened products, called hametz, during Passover.
The bill targeting judicial review passed in the initial reading on Wednesday by a vote of 62-51. It now heads back to committee before returning to the Knesset floor for second and third votes, which would enshrine it as law. One day earlier, the Knesset advanced another piece of the court reform, giving the governing coalition full control over Supreme Court appointments and restricting the court’s ability to rule on some laws.
The judicial review bill approved Wednesday would allow the Knesset to add a preemptive clause to nearly every bill prohibiting the Supreme Court from striking it down once it becomes law. Bills without the clause could be struck down by the Supreme Court only with a unanimous vote.
The Supreme Court has in the past nixed laws that diminish the rights of minorities, including Arabs, the LGBTQ minority, and non-Orthodox Jews. Opponents of the legislation say it will allow the right-wing government to downgrade civil rights protections.
The vote took place after raucous exchanges in the Knesset, and comes amid mass protests of the reform across Israel, and growing alarm among observers over the plan’s potential harm to Israel’s democratic system. Yesterday, a major North American Jewish umbrella group came out against the elimination of judicial review, with its leaders warning that “concentration of power is a cause of great concern.”
Yair Levin, the justice minister, repeated offers to negotiate the content of the new laws. The opposition parties want Netanyahu to suspend the advancement of the legislation before negotiations begin, and are reportedly considering a plan to resign en masse in protest.
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Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
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Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
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Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.