Sam Sokol
Haaretz.com
Israel
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Past articles by Sam:
Can Israel’s Supreme Court Strike down Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul?
Legal experts consider the potential scenarios if the government passes its legislation to weaken the Supreme Court, including a full-blown constitutional crisis → Read More
History 'Favors the Strong': Israel PM Netanyahu Before Meeting With 'Post-fascist' Italian Prime Minister
Defending his government’s judicial coup in his first interview with a foreign print publication, Netanyahu said to Italy’s la Repubblica newspaper that 'History is impartial and unforgiving. It doesn't favor the virtuous, nor who's morally superior. It favors the strong' → Read More
A Right-wing Think Tank Spearheaded Israel's Judicial Coup. Now Its Chief Economist Warns Against It
'When there is no separation of branches and the coalition is given almost unlimited power, it is likely that it will want to use this in order to increase the chances of its political survival,' economist Michael Sarel said in an open letter → Read More
Thousands of Hasidic Boys in London Deprived of Secular Education, Unable to Speak English
The Times of London report comes only months after a bombshell New York Times report revealed that ultra-Orthodox boys schools in the U.S. were hardly teaching English, math and other secular subjects → Read More
Holding an Iranian Drone, Ukraine’s Ambassador Warns Israelis: You’re Next
In an interview for the Haaretz-UCLA conference, Ukrainian ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk explains why Israel’s attitude to Kyiv may finally be changing: ‘We have a joint enemy now’ → Read More
Is Netanyahu Leading a Right-wing Government? ‘It Looks More Like a Gang of Thugs’
In a panel on far-right nationalism and populism at the Haaretz-UCLA conference, top experts from Israel and the U.S. discussed what Netanyahu learned from Trump, and the threats to continued U.S. Jewish support of Israel → Read More
‘These Are Not Judicial Reforms. We’re in a Battle for the Soul of Israel’
The 2023 Haaretz-UCLA conference kicks off with a stark warning from former Israeli foreign and justice minister Tzipi Livni: If Netanyahu's judicial coup succeeds, Israeli democracy will be in grave danger. She also explains what American Jews can do to help Israel’s liberal forces. WATCH → Read More
'There's No Such Thing' as Settler Violence: Far-right Israeli Minister Excuses Hawara Rampage
Asked if the settler rampage in Hawara, which one senior IDF officer described as a 'pogrom,' bothered him, Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu seemingly questioned whether the incident even occurred → Read More
'Democracy Is Doing What God Says,' Netanyahu Ally Leading Judicial Coup Says
During a December 2021 speech at an Israeli university, chair of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, advocated for an illiberal democracy and defended Viktor Orbán's political doctrine, while also saying that 'those who don't wear a Kippah are actually harming democracy' → Read More
U.S. Announced Israeli Settlement Freeze, Netanyahu Rushed to Deny It
Washington and Jerusalem’s narratives of the meetings appeared to diverge almost immediately, however, when Netanyahu tweeting that 'construction and legalization in Judea and Samaria will continue according to the original planning and construction schedule, without any changes' → Read More
Judicial Overhaul Architect Admits Legislation Will Undercut Voting Rights in Israel
Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, author of a key bill to weaken Israel's judiciary, stated while many rights would no longer enjoy the protection of the High Court, the move to remove the court's power of judicial review was necessary in order to curtail its power → Read More
Terror Attacks in Israel Spark ultra-Orthodox Debate on Gun Ownership
Following deadly terror attacks, Israel's ultra-Orthodox community is debating the merits of gun ownership, leading to a significant increase in applications for gun permits → Read More
Majority of Israelis Opposed to Netanyahu Government's Judicial Overhaul, Poll Shows
New survey reveals 66 percent of Israelis believe the High Court should retain the power to strike down legislation incompatible with the country’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws → Read More
British Legal Experts Pan Coalition’s Comparison of Judicial Coup to ‘Westminster System’
While Israeli lawmakers have been comparing the Israeli legal system to the British one to legitimize the coalition's efforts to weaken the justice system, U.K legal experts say that it is wrong to assume that law courts are irrelevant to public policymaking → Read More
Russian State TV Denounces Israeli FM’s Visit to Ukrainian ‘Nazi State’
On Thursday, Eli Cohen visited Bucha and laid a wreath in memory of the Babi Yar massacre victims at the invitation of his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba → Read More
Bulgaria May Seek Israel’s Help in Crypto Sanctions-busting Investigation
The two countries could cooperate on an investigation into the alleged illegal activities of cryptocurrency firm Nexo; A Bulgarian official stated that one of the suspects ‘was involved in terror financing for Hamas’ → Read More
Turkish Jewish Community Pans Israeli Rabbi Who Said Earthquake Was a ‘Sign of Divine Justice’
Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu wrote after the earthquake that 'G-d is judging all the nations around us who wanted to invade our land' ■ The fiery rabbi is known for his controversial opinions, having already been indicted for incitement to racism in the past → Read More
Uproar Over ultra-Orthodox Party's Plan to Criminalize Mixed Gender Western Wall Prayers
The legislation being pushed by the Shas party mandates half a year in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 shekels ($2,867) for violators – women who read the Torah, blow a shofar, put on prayer shawls or don phylacteries → Read More
Barcelona Cuts Ties With 'Apartheid' Israel, Spanish Jews Condemn 'Antisemitic' Decision
Barcelona has declared its opposition to 'Israeli apartheid' and will end its twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, the city's mayor has announced Thursday ■ The move was met with accusations of antisemitism from the local Jewish community and pro-Israel organizations → Read More
European Jewish Congress Cuts Security Funding After Sanctions Slapped on Top Donor
The group's financial future has been unclear since Russian oligarch Moshe Kantor stepped down as president in April amid sanctions due to his close ties to Vladimir Putin → Read More