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💡 SPOTLIGHT
Bibi blinked: Can Netanyahu survive after backing down on judicial putsch?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has backed down in the 11th hour on his plans to push forward on a major judicial reform bill that had sparked massive protests.
Benjamin Netanyahu played the sorcerer's apprentice and lost. By announcing Monday night the suspension of his judicial reform, which has deeply divided Israeli society and brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the nation's streets, he signed his defeat.
One thing we know about the Israeli prime minister is that he has not said his last word: the reform is only suspended, not withdrawn. He promised a "real dialogue" after the Passover holiday.
Netanyahu is not one to back down easily: he had clearly gone too far, first by allying himself with extreme right-wing forces from the fringes of the political spectrum; but above all by wanting to change the balance on which the Jewish State had lived since its foundation in 1948. His plans threatened to change the nature of the state in a patently "illiberal" direction.
This prime minister, who holds Israel's record for longevity in power, had not anticipated the unprecedented mobilization of secular, liberal, productive Israel. This "other Israel" has been demonstrating for 12 weeks against the prime minister's project, and has not let go.
The fatal mistake of the prime minister was Sunday evening's dismissal of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who had dared to ask for the "freezing" of the judicial reform bill. To use the expression of the daily newspaper Haaretz, "he opened the Pandora's box of Israeli public anger and rage."
Tens of thousands of people spontaneously took to the streets, in front of the parliament and the prime minister's residence, until late at night; followed on Monday by a general strike.
Netanyahu overestimated his strength after this autumn's victory in the fifth legislative elections in four years. And he underestimated the reaction of a good part of the population who had certainly turned away from sterile political games in recent years; but who perceived that there was something fundamental in this reform, risking to forever change the face of Israel. It had become untenable.
Can Netanyahu still pass his reform? It seems difficult after such a setback. If he reads the polls, Netanyahu will also realize that his coalition would lose its majority if elections were held today, and his political credibility is largely damaged.
He will first have to manage the aftermath of this debacle. Monday night, incidents pitted furious far-right protesters against opponents. This extremist fringe, which relies on the pool of settlers in the West Bank, had thought its time had come — and is now left disappointed.
The coalition itself has teetered. Far-right leaders had threatened to resign if the reform was suspended, before negotiating to stay.
Returning to power was supposed to prevent Netanyahu from answering charges of corruption before the courts; but the price to pay was the most right-wing coalition in Israel. In doing so, he triggered what may be the most serious domestic political crisis the Jewish State has ever known. It is an explosive situation. "Bibi, king of Israel," his supporters used to sing, invoking his nickname: the "King" has lost his grip.
— Pierre Haski / France Inter
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• Netanyahu delays controversial plan after mass protests: A general strike has ended and protests diminished Tuesday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a controversial plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary will be delayed. Netanyahu said he was determined to pass the judicial reform but called for “an attempt to achieve broad consensus.”
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📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Mapping the patriarchy: where nine out of 10 streets are named after men
The Mapping Diversity platform examined maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries, finding that women are severely underrepresented in the group of those who name streets and squares, reports Eugenia Nicolosi in Italian weekly magazine Internazionale. The one (unsurprising) exception: The Virgin Mary.
🏙️♀️ As we think about how to design more inclusive cities, it's important also to reflect on the historical erasure of female fighters, musicians and scientists. With 24 streets dedicated to her, the most celebrated woman on the streets of Europe is renowned scientist Marie Curie. But she does not always get her own header: her husband's name, Pierre, almost always precedes her on the plaques — even if he has one fewer Nobel Prize than she does.
🔍 The Mapping Diversity platform, developed by Sheldon Studio, examines maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries. Out of 145,933 streets and squares, 91% of those named after people are dedicated to men, the study reveals. Taking two steps in any metropolis will prove this. “It is a subtle but powerful reminder of who our society values,” the study's authors write. The results: 47,842 named after men, versus just 4,779 named after women.
🇸🇪 Among capital cities, the most inclusive city in Europe is Stockholm, with just 19.5% of streets named after women. It is followed by Madrid (18.7%), Copenhagen (13.4%) and Berlin (12.2%). At the bottom of the list are Prague (4.3%) and Athens (4.5%). In Italy, just 6.6% of streets are dedicated to women: only 1,626 out of 24,527 streets. Excluding those dedicated to the Virgin Mary leaves just 959.
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📣 VERBATIM
“I am not ready to tear the country apart.”
— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “pause” on his controversial judicial reforms to “allow dialogue” and avoid a “civil war” – succumbing to growing pressure from within his own coalition a day after one of the biggest protests in Israel’s history. The solution Mr Netanyahu has proposed will buy him time, but it won't solve the problem as demonstrators were fighting for this bill to be scrapped, not delayed.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
The Ukrainian Minister of Defence announced that British-supplied Challenger 2 main battle tanks had recently arrived in Ukraine. "These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions," said Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, thanking UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Defense Minister Ben Wallace as well as the "British people" for their support. The UK had promised 14 of the vehicles to Ukraine. — Photo: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine/Cover Images/ZUMA
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