Last Call For Israeli A Problem, Con't

As Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu progresses through the stages of grief for his lost career and upcoming trial, we find he's reached the bargaining stage ahead of Sunday's vote removing him from office.

In a desperate last-minute bid to thwart the swearing-in of the new government, associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Friday conveyed to Defense Minister Benny Gantz a plan by which Netanyahu would immediately step down and the Blue and White chief could serve as premier for three years, Channel 12 reported Friday night.

The proposal, rejected by Gantz’s camp, would reportedly have seen Netanyahu serve as alternate prime minister during that time.

The report said the offer, one of several that came to Gantz through a number of channels and associates close to Netanyahu in recent days, was conveyed in the early hours of Friday morning.

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu offered to formally resign on Friday morning so as to give Gantz confidence that he could still return to the so-called “change bloc” if the prime minister were to withdraw his resignation in the two days ahead of Sunday evening’s vote on the new coalition.

Gantz’s associates absolutely rejected Netanyahu’s offer, Channel 12 said.

Netanyahu’s Likud and Gantz’s Blue and White agreed to form a coalition in April 2020, after three consecutive inconclusive elections. But just over six months after it was formed, the government was dissolved when the sides could not agree on passing a 2020 budget, and a new election was called for March 2021. The move was widely seen as being engineered by Netanyahu so as to avoid handing over the premiership to Gantz in November 2021, as stipulated in the coalition agreement between them.

Likud MK David Bitan on Friday leveled some criticism at Netanyahu over the dissolution of the short-lived unity government that Likud formed with Blue and White.

“In retrospect, it’s clear today that it was a mistake by Netanyahu not to implement the rotation with Gantz. Relative to what happened, he made a mistake,” Bitan said.

The Channel 12 report on the offer to Gantz said the proposal showed that Netanyahu has reconciled himself to the fact that his political rivals are on the cusp of forming a government that will see him removed as premier and head to parliamentary opposition.

Members of Netanyahu’s “circle” told Channel 13 news that he understands that his 12-year consecutive term will come to an end on Sunday and he is determined to fight the “change government” from the opposition benches.

The outlet said that Netanyahu told associates that he will “continue to lead the national camp as head of the opposition.”

The Likud party for the first time said Thursday that Netanyahu is committed to a peaceful transition of power, while reiterating and clarifying the premier’s claims of “election fraud.” The statement was issued only in English.

Meanwhile, Likud MK Shlomo Karhi told Channel 13 Friday that the party is united and “we’re going together to the opposition.”

Karhi’s comment came a day after Likud MK Nir Barkat called for party members to delay holding new leadership primaries. Barkat’s call, at a gathering of some 4,000 Likud activists in Tel Aviv, was seen as a show of strength in the party and an indication he will join a growing list of top Likud officials lining up to challenge Netanyahu for the party leadership.

 

Now let's make no mistake here, Israel's policy of Apartheid against the Palestinians will continue, the violence will continue, America's unwavering support of both will continue...but it will continue without Netanyahu as PM.  All three will continue as his legacy.

But he will no longer be in charge, and very soon I suspect, he will be in prison.

 

It's About Suppression, Con't

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced a major new Justice Department initiative to take on GOP voter suppression efforts across the country as the Biden administration gears up to fight the Big Lie.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Justice Department will aggressively fight efforts to restrict voting rights nationwide following a blitz of new voting restrictions in Republican-led states that stem from former President Donald Trump's lies that widespread fraud helped Joe Biden win the presidential election. 

In a speech Friday, Garland outlined a number of steps the Justice Department will take to protect every citizen's right to vote, and within the next 30 days said the department will double the number of employees in the Civil Rights Division's "enforcement staff for protecting the right to vote." 

"There are many things that are open to debate in America. But the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow," Garland said to a room of prosecutors inside the Justice Department's Great Hall. 

The Justice Department, he said, will examine new restrictive voting laws across the country and take action against any "violations." 

As Arizona's problem-ridden audit has inspired Republicans elsewhere to push for reviews in their own states, Garland said DOJ will analyze post-election audits, "to ensure they abide by federal statutory requirements to protect election records and avoid the intimidation of voters." 

Garland said that since 2013 when the Supreme Court decided that portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were no longer valid, "there has been a dramatic rise in legislative efforts that will make it harder for millions of citizens to cast a ballot that counts." 

This year alone, 14 states have passed controversial voting right laws "and some jurisdictions, based on disinformation, have utilized abnormal post-election audit methodologies that may put the integrity of the voting process at risk and undermine public confidence in our democracy," Garland said. 

By increasing the Civil Rights Division's staff, Garland said "we will use all existing provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to ensure that we protect every qualified American seeking to participate in our democracy." 

Garland emphasized a commitment to protecting Black voters and other voters of color, and said the department will "scrutinize current laws and practices" to discern whether Black voters and other voters of color have been discriminated against, including when it comes to the amount of time Black voters and other voters of color wait in polling lines compared to white voters. 

The department will put out "guidance with respect to early voting and voting by mail," Garland said, and, "the voting protections that apply to all jurisdictions as they redraw their legislative maps," as states begin the redistricting process ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Garland said. 

While he said the Justice Department is not waiting on legislation, Garland reaffirmed the Biden administration's vision for the passage of S1, called the For the People Act, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. 

According to Garland, the "For the People Act," the Democratic-backed voting rights bill "would provide the Department with the tools it needs," to preserve voting rights.

 

Good. It's time to go on the offensive, staff up the Civil Rights Division, and start suing the hell out of Republican states for voter suppression.  We need to tie them up for months, if not years.

And yes, I know this means heading for a certain defeat in the Roberts court before 2024, which is the trap being laid. But it won't matter if the GOP wins back Congress in 2022, because the game will be up.

I like this fight. Let's have it.