I hope many persons are keeping a sideways eye on the protests in Israel. Pretty much unprecedented. Some reservists are even refusing to report, rare. If these judicial reforms are so important, we would have heard about them for a long time and they would have been part of the campaigns. If the PM wants to be a real leader he will slow down the drive to enact the judiciary changes. (And remove the parts of the proposed reform that limit his legal liability from his corruption cases). In fact, this is a dangerous time. Israel under PM Net can’t proactively attack Iran’s 90% nuclear program bec Israel’s claims won’t have legitimacy. If you can’t trust the government on the judiciary issue, how can you trust on issues of war? I am not close enough, really close, to know who will blink in the coalition. But PM Net has always been strong on national security issues, and he is losing persuasive clout in the public’s eyes. Whatever happens, I predict the return of Naftali Bennett as PM. And I predict more open warfare between Israel and Iran, beyond the undeclared present war. See for example “Netanyahu Is Shattering Israeli Society,” NYT, 2-28-23.
“Iran shows off underground tunnels for air defenses – analysis,” Jerusalem Post, 2-28-23.
How shameful. “Suspected schoolgirl poisoning attacks rattle a shaken Iran,” AP, 2-28-23.
“Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in “about 12 days,” a top U.S. Defense Department official said … down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect.” See “Iran can make fissile material for a bomb ‘in about 12 days’ – U.S. official,” Reuters, 12-28-23. See also “Top US Defense official says Iran could produce ‘one bomb’s worth of fissile material’ in ‘about 12 days’,” CNN, 12-28-23.
“Pentagon: Iran a ‘Global Challenge’ Due to Alliance with Russia,” VOA, 2-28-23.