美国国家公共电台 NPR--An American Jewish group tries to negotiate an end to a political crisis in Israel

An American Jewish group tries to negotiate an end to a political crisis in Israel

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Eric Fingerhut of the Jewish Federations² of North America about unrest in Israel over efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party to overhaul³ the judicial⁴ system.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now we turn to Israel, where hundreds of thousands of people have joined street protests against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judiciary. Netanyahu made some concessions⁵ this week, but his government still plans to give the ruling party the power to select judges and overturn Supreme⁶ Court decisions. Eric Fingerhut is president and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America. He joined a group that traveled to Israel to ask for a compromise. And he joins us this morning from Phoenix⁷. Good morning, Eric.

ERIC FINGERHUT: Good morning.

FADEL: So, Eric, what prompted you - what was the urgency that got you and your group to get on a plane and head to Israel in this moment?

FINGERHUT: Well, really, two reasons - and this was a delegation⁸ that represented more than a dozen communities...

FADEL: Yeah.

FINGERHUT: ...About 30 community leaders representing the broader group of 146 Jewish federations. It was two things. First, we wanted to make sure - we know this is largely a domestic debate in Israel, but we wanted to make sure that they understood the deep concern that this is causing in the North American Jewish communities and also the impact that some of the proposals, as they were originally made, would have - were they enacted⁹ as proposed - would have on our relationship. The second is we love and care about Israel. And we're watching the protests and seeing, you know, increasingly strident debate and families torn apart...

FADEL: Yeah.

FINGERHUT: ...And debates. And so we, you know, we love and care about Israel. And when there's risk, we show up, and we want to see how we can be helpful. So those were the motivations.

FADEL: Yeah. And what message did you carry about the concern of American Jews over this?

FINGERHUT: Well, really, we asked for three things. We, as you mentioned earlier, we strongly urged that there be negotiations¹⁰ towards compromise. We particularly urged the - them to work with President Herzog, who has, you know, offered his good offices for negotiations and has made some suggested compromise proposals. We urged them not to continue to move the original package forward as it was currently formulated¹¹ and on the timetable that it was originally formulated because we really thought that that original package was, you know, - would have been very harmful. And frankly¹², we've seen progress on that.

FADEL: Are you happy with the concessions? Is that enough?

FINGERHUT: Well, there's been some changes made to one of the elements and also the timetable for - originally, they had said they were going to put the whole package through completely, final passage, before the break that comes for the Passover holiday soon in another week and a half. And that has now been put off until after the holiday. So it gives more time for, you know, for discussion and potential compromise. And thirdly, we really do note that, you know, the essence of democracy, of course, is both majority rule and minority rights. And that's guaranteed through a system of checks and balances. And we understand that the system of checks and balances in Israel isn't going to look like it is in America or any - necessarily any other country in the world - but that there be - we urge there be a clearly articulated system of checks and balances, so everybody understands how that would work in the entirety of the package. We didn't think that was reflected in the original package introduced. Again, it's hard to see, you know, where that is because we don't know what the final package will look like, but we do think that message is being heard.

FADEL: Eric Fingerhut of The Jewish Federations of North America.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 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。

2 federations   

n.联邦( federation的名词复数 )；同盟；联盟；联合会

参考例句：

• These problems are women's special problems and special work of women's federations. 这样的问题，就是妇女的特殊问题，就是妇联的特殊工作。 来自互联网
• The Bridge Federate is a feasible solution to achieve multi-federations interconnection. 基于桥接成员实现多联邦互连是目前较为通用和可行的方法。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 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。

7 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。