What we’re watching: Bibi vs Israelis, Sweden’s NATO own goal
Bibi caves, Israelis protest
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanhayu finally dismissed key ally Aryeh Deri as interior and health minister, days after the High Court ruled he was ineligible to hold a senior cabinet post because of a previous criminal conviction. Deri is the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, whose members had threatened to turn away from Bibi’s shaky government if the prime minister fired their leader. But now it appears that the coalition – which includes a motley group of far-right, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties – may survive the crisis after all as Deri backs Bibi’s push to speed up controversial legal reforms. Critics say these changes will undermine the independence of the judiciary – for example, with a new law that would remove the High Court’s jurisdiction to decide Deri’s case. Meanwhile, an estimated 110,000 people – the largest crowd since Bibi was sworn in three weeks ago – took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday to rally against the planned judicial reforms of the coalition, considered the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
Do you need a service from Turkey? Do not burn the Koran.
Sweden is struggling to limit the political fallout from Saturday far-right Koran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, which sparked demonstrations near the Swedish consulate in Istanbul the next day. Given that the demonstration was authorized by the government, Turkey had already suspended bilateral talks before the demonstration and will now not accept Sweden’s condemnations of what Ankara claims is an Islamophobic hate crime. The burning of the Koran gives Turkish President Racip Tayip Erdogan nationalistic fodder vote in May or June, as well as extra leverage with other NATO member states, all of whom hope Ankara will relent. The Turks have used joint bid of Finland and Sweden to join NATO – which requires unanimous approval – to force the two countries to tighten laws allowing Turkish and Kurdish dissidents to go there. Now expect Erdogan to do so delay their consent even longer — perhaps until after the election.