“Today, there is no democracy in the state of Israel.”

By World Israel News Staff

Minister of Regional Cooperation Dudi Amsalem (Likud) said Saturday that Supreme Court President Esther Hayut and former court president Aharon Barak should be charged with “a coup attempt,” and called for a probe into the organizers of the protests against the government’s judicial reform plan.

He also said an “elitist minority in Tel Aviv” was holding the country hostage, and that Israel is currently “not a democratic country” as a result.

“I am fighting for democracy,” he declared. “Today, there is no democracy in the state of Israel.”

“Everyone who led this protest, including [former prime minister] Ehud Barak, Aharon Barak and the Supreme Court president, are people who should be charged with an attempted coup,” he told Channel 12’s Meet the Press.

Barak is widely considered as being responsible for the “judicial revolution” in the mid 1990s, in which the Supreme Court gained sweeping powers, that the current government seeks to correct.

“We have to form an investigative committee into [the protests]. It will happen, even if it isn’t today,” he said.

His comments came as tens of thousands took to the streets for the 15th consecutive week on Saturday night protesting against the plans for judicial reform.

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Here is a recap of the top Israel news stories on July 2, 2019.

And in case you missed our last recap…

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Dudi Amsalem is appointed Communications Minister but Ayoub Kara isn’t happy about it. 

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed David “Dudi” Amsalem on Monday as new communications minister.

The 58-year-old Likud member is considered faithful to the prime minister and has defended him repeatedly in the media, Israel Hayom reports. He currently serves as whip of the governing coalition.

Netanyahu tweeted on Monday: “I decided to appoint Knesset Member Dudi Amsalem to the position of Communications Minister. Good luck Dudi!”

“I’m happy at the great privilege of serving Israel in the role of Communications Minister” Amsalem said. “I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his trust.”

A number of Likud members congratulated Amsalem on his new appointment.

“I congratulate my friend, MK Dudi Amsalem, on his appointment as Minister of Communications, and I wish him great success, and I am pleased to see him join the Cabinet,” tweeted Amir Ohana, newly minted Justice Minister.

Bezalel Smotrich of the United Right alliance, recently appointed Transportation Minister, tweeted “I wish success to my friend @dudiamsalem as Minister of Communications. Dudi is a worthy and serious man and will undoubtedly do well.”

However, not all were pleased at the appointment. Former Communications Minister Ayoub Kara attacked his replacement.

“He got rid of me, the circle is closed, the assassin is appointed minister in my place,” he said in an interview with the Knesset channel.

Kara quit the position on June 22, complaining of being undermined from within the Likud party.

“Since I was appointed communications minister, a campaign of biased slander began against me stemming from prehistoric attitudes. And every success turned into a failure,” he said.

Kara is a member of the Druze community.

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