We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script ISRAEL PROTESTS AFTERMATH))
HEADLINE: Fallout from Israel’s Judicial Overhaul
TEASER: Israelis Thinking of Leaving the Country, Economy Affected
PUBLISHED: 8/1/23, 2:30p
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
DATELINE: Jerusalem VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, AFP, Reuters, Courtesies
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X__ RADIO ___
TRT: 2:48 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TV/R EDITOR NOTES: Email edits to lindagradstein@gmail.com and rickirosen1@gmail.com
WEB DESK, PLEASE POST CAMERA CREDIT FOR RICKI ROSEN
((INTRO))
[[The fallout from the new law that limits the power of the Israeli judiciary is already being felt. Thousands of Israelis say they will leave the country, thousands of reservists say they will no longer serve, and investors are losing faith in the Israeli economy. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.]]
((NARRATOR)((Mandatory cg: Knesset TV))
The effects of the new Israeli law to limit the judiciary’s power are already being felt. A new survey found that more than a quarter of all Israelis are considering ((end credit)) leaving the country if the judicial overhaul continues.
The day after the law was passed, a new WhatsApp group called “Doctors for Relocation” had already attracted 3,000 members.
[[RADIO VERSION: Hagai Levine is the chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians.]]
((Hagai Levine, Association of Public Health Physicians (Male, English)))
“So many Israelis, more than 1,000 physicians, now starting to look for options for relocation for other countries. Others are planning to take an absence of leave, or to get fired from their work.”
((NARRATOR))
Along with the doctors are the army reservists who have already begun to act on their threats to refuse volunteer reserve duty. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the helicopter pilot course has already been scaled back after nearly half of the reservist trainers stopped coming to teach.
[[RADIO VERSION: Amir Bar Shalom is the military analyst for Israel’s Army Radio.]]
((Amir Bar Shalom, Israel Army Radio (Male in English)))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“We know that with the air force in about 30 days from now, we will have, let’s say, less skilled pilots than we had before.”
((NARRATOR))
There are also economic consequences. Both credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard and Poors have warned that investors are losing confidence in Israel.
[[RADIO VERSION: Yannay Spitzer is a professor of Economics at Hebrew University.]]
((Yannay Spitzer, Hebrew University Economics Professor (Male in English)))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“The value of the shekel has depreciated 17% over and above what would have been predicted by normal market conditions. That is a lot. Moreover we see that since the elections, the Israeli stock exchanges have been severely underperforming ///
This implies a loss of wealth on the order of 300 billion shekels, which is about 80 billion dollars. And this is by the time that just one law has passed.”
((REST OPT))
((NARRATOR))
Many of the protest leaders come from Israel's high-tech sector, and analysts worry about a brain drain.
[[RADIO VERSION: Yossi Klein Halevi is a Senior Fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.]]
((Yossi Klein Halevi, Shalom Hartman Institute, Male (in English), VOA))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
:30
“Nothing worries me more than the prospect of an emigration of our best young people – the people who keep Israel modern, democratic, who connect Israel to the wider world, the global economy. These are the people who are the backbone of what we call here the startup nation, the Israeli success story.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: Knesset TV))
A week after passing the first part of the judicial overhaul, the Israeli Knesset began its three-month summer vacation. But in September the Israeli ((Mandatory cg: Israel Government Press Office))
Supreme Court is set to hear petitions against the law that was passed. Netanyahu has refused to say whether he will obey the court if they rule that the law should be overturned. ((end credit))
((Linda Gradstein for VOA News, Jerusalem))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Jerusalem
Embargo DateJuly 31, 2023 20:33 EDT
Byline
Linda Gradstein for VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
