美国国家公共电台 NPR--Protesters in Israel criticize the judicial overhaul planned by the new government

Protesters in Israel criticize the judicial¹ overhaul² planned by the new government

Transcript³

Israel's new government wants to weaken the judiciary — prompting unprecedented⁴ levels of protest. Critics say the effort echoes steps taken by the far-right governments in Hungary and Poland.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Israel's president says the country's current crisis is a powder keg. The coalition⁵ in power, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wants to weaken the judiciary. Protesters say it resembles what leaders have done in Hungary and Poland. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Hebrew).

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁶: Protesters chant, embarrassment⁷. They chant, democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Hebrew).

ESTRIN: Tens of thousands, young and old, in downtown Tel Aviv last weekend, the country's biggest demonstration⁸ in years. They're protesting the far-right government's first major initiative to try to redefine the country's checks and balances. It wants control over appointing judges, and it wants the power to uphold the law, even if the Supreme⁹ Court strikes it down as an infringement¹⁰ on rights and freedoms.

Suzie Navot of the Israel Democracy Institute.

SUZIE NAVOT: I think this may be the end of a full democracy. Democracy means that you have an effective protection for human rights. So crushing the Israeli democracy - I think that this idea is completely accurate.

ESTRIN: Power over the judiciary could help Israel's right wing and religious coalition achieve goals the Supreme Court has previously¹¹ blocked, like taking over land owned by Palestinians and exempting¹² ultra-Orthodox Jews from the army. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could also benefit from a weakened judiciary. He's on trial for corruption¹³. In a recent speech, he dismissed the criticism as the media's tsunami¹⁴ of spin.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: He says his government is not destroying democracy. It's saving democracy by rebalancing Israel's checks and balances. He referenced a Wall Street Journal editorial which said Israel's Supreme Court has too much power. And he said democracy must ensure the minority doesn't take control over the majority.

(APPLAUSE)

ESTRIN: But protesters are worried Israel could follow in the footsteps of two diminished democracies.

DAN LAHAV: I do think that Hungary is a real possibility.

MAAYAN AHARON: Poland. Poland.

LAHAV: Poland.

MENACHEM KATZ: There's a danger that Israel will become like Hungary and Poland, and we are very concerned. We don't want that to happen.

ESTRIN: Those are protesters Dan Lahav, his wife, Maayan Aharon, and Menachem Katz. When the far right came to office in Hungary in 2010 and in Poland in 2015, they took the same approach to consolidating¹⁵ power.

HADAS ARON: The first step in both cases was the judiciary.

ESTRIN: Israeli professor Hadas Aron of New York University studies populism in Hungary, Poland and Israel. She says Israel is taking a page from the same playbook as Hungary and Poland.

ARON: And now it seems to be an accelerated, all-out process. And it's really alarming.

ESTRIN: Israel's top legal figures have protested, and now Israeli economic leaders are, too. Israel's economy is strong, but two former Israeli central bankers warn that Israel's international credit rating could drop. That's what happened to Poland and Hungary when their judiciaries were weakened.

Israel's central bank saw one of its top monetary¹⁶ advisers¹⁷ quit this week in protest, Moshe Hazan. He told NPR a big U.S. investment bank asked him this week whether to even invest in Israel with the government's plans for the judiciary.

MOSHE HAZAN: And I think it's important to make clear to the government that this reform is going to hurt the Israeli economy and probably pretty soon.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a speech he's negotiating with politicians behind the scenes to avert¹⁸ a historic constitutional crisis. But the government has shown no sign of backing down. Neither have protesters. They're planning their fourth consecutive¹⁹ demonstration this coming weekend.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

(SOUNDBITE OF BILL LAURANCE'S "MR. ELEVATOR")

1 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 exempting   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• EPA adopted regulations exempting discharges from agricultural activities, with certain exceptions for relatively major pollution sources. 环境保护局采用管制规章，禁止源自农业活动的各种排放，对于一些相关的大型污染源也有例外。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

15 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

16 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

17 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

18 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

19 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。