Over the past few weeks, Israeli society has demonstrated the ability to mobilize and challenge its government. Clearly this capacity has always been present, but it has never once been utilized to challenge the apartheid system that oppresses Palestinians every day. This should help illustrate just how deeply supported apartheid is in Israeli society.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister and undying garbage heap Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the apartheid state’s leader and his plan to overhaul the judiciary (Jew-diciary?). Understand that this judicial system that so many Israelis are trying to ~save~ is the same one that approved the legality of destroying the Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta last year. It’s the same system that legitimizes collective punishment and claims that Israeli laws supercede international laws. In short, the judicial system is just as rotten as the rest of the apartheid levers of power.
In response to the firing of the defense minister, tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the apartheid state in a growing outburst of anger. The protests only deepened a months-long identity crisis over Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the court system, which has sparked mass protests and even drawn tepid concern from the United States and other close allies.
Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that Benny and his boys will barrel ahead this week with the blatant overhaul of the apartheid legislature. Gallant was the first senior member of the ruling party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military. Because at the end of the day, much like its primary financial backer, the sole focus of those in power in apartheid Israel is protecting and strengthening the military so they can continue to murder, torture, and detain innocent Palestinians.
Side Items
Fake Pope: This weekend provided one of the first real mass tests regarding artificial intelligence, which most people (myself included) promptly failed. Next time it might not be a picture of the pope (who admittedly looks pretty cool), but it could be a computer-generated image of a political leader toting a gun, or a public figure in a compromising position. The problem is really the apparent and widespread lack of media literacy and our collective inability to distinguish between what’s real and what a computer spit out
Blue Lives: A new report from a community monitoring group reveals that Chicago police officers are frequently taught that their lives are more important than public safety. The Chicago Use of Force Community Working Group monitored training at the city's new $170 million police academy (an enormous waste of money). The group repeatedly heard veteran officers instructing new recruits that their lives were more important than the safety of the community. Apparently the most important job in the eyes of the police is not protecting or serving or even saving lives, it’s the ability to go home at the end of their shift
America’s Largest Land Lord: Back in the day, when buying a home you had to compete with other individuals or couples. Nowadays you have to compete with giant private equity firms like Blackstone. San Diego County, where Blackstone purchased thousands of affordable housing units in 2021, is a prime example of how devastating this process is to those looking to find housing. As renters moved out of Blackstone houses, the company raised rents in some units between 43-64% in two years. By jacking up the price of their units, Blackstone is rapidly extinguishing the number of affordable housing units in the area, exacerbating an already dire affordable housing shortage in California. Now might be a good time to educate ourselves on squatter’s rights in the state