S3 E15. PM Netanyahu: War on Hamas. The Shin Bet. The Israeli Supreme Court.

Each week, it seems, the stakes get higher. Last week, PM Netanyahu strode into very dangerous territory. In addition to resuming the war with Hamas, his government took the rather bold steps of firing the Internal Security Service Head, Ronen Bar, as well as Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara. Never before has a government fired a Shin Bet boss. And this, in the midst of unprecedented security threats—externally. And then there’s the fact that these acts were brought to the Israeli Supreme Court for an emergency hearing. And the Court held that the government was acting outside the law in firing Ronen Bar in such haste and that it must adhere to threshold legal standards and procedures. That, of course, was met with derision by the PM and several of his senior cabinet colleagues. For them, this was yet another example of the constant subversion engaged in by the entrenched Leftist deep state; a label they slap on anyone or interest that takes issue with their policies and execution of same. Yes. They really said that. Many times. On Sunday. This is standard for the government coalition. So. Here we are. With the government leadership vowing to give the Supreme Court the middle finger. And just do what they deem appropriate. And that has set off alarm in Israel. It’s all too much and too close to the bone. As always. Conricus and I get into the detail, and yes, we are both deeply concerned. As are 63% of Israelis. A recent poll indicated they worried about the future of the country as a democracy.

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Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank. He served in the IDF for 24 years, four of them as spokesman during the intense 11 days of the Guardian of the Walls Operation between Israel and Hamas. Now a reserve officer with the rank of Lt. Col., he is a sought-after speaker internationally and is frequently seen on major television news shows. Jonathan was born in Jerusalem to a Swedish father and an Israeli mother and spent his formative years in Sweden.

Jonathan Conricus on X: @jconricus

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