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I Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
srael Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and his right-wing allies
in the Knesset are pushing a law that
would allow the Knesset to override
Supreme Court rulings. The members
of Israel’s legislative branch would just
have to reintroduce a proposal and give
it majority approval (61 votes).

This proposal is widely seen as
protection for Netanyahu against
corruption charges and a way to
expand the powers of the Rabbinical
Court in the Jewish state.

But more than a quarter of Israel’s
population is not Jewish, and more
than 20% of Israelis are Arab. Israel
may be the Jewish state, but it is also a
multicultural democracy.

In response to the Knesset’s proposal,
hundreds of thousands of Israelis have
taken to the streets in protest in recent
months. Israel President Isaac Herzog
has voiced his opposition.

Some of Israel’s biggest tech compa-
nies, like the software company
Riskifi ed and the cybersecurity fi rm Wiz,
announced plans to divest from the
country. Jewish New York Times colum-
nist Thomas Friedman, a longtime
documenter of Israel, called this “the
biggest internal clash” since Israel’s
founding after World War II. He also
wrote, in the same March 7 column,
that for American Jewish leaders, “To
stay silent about this fi ght is to become
Lehigh University Hillel Co-President Zach Weiser said it’s important
to support Israel even when you do not agree with the actions of its
government. Courtesy of Zach Weiser
Local College Students Comment on
Israel Situation
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MARCH 16, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
irrelevant.” But what about the next genera-
tion of Jewish leaders? The Jewish
Exponent tried to fi nd some on
campuses in the region to hear what
they think. No one expressed support
for Netanyahu and the Knesset’s
proposal. But a sampling of student
leaders said that, even if the proposal
passes into law, they would continue
to support Israel.

“I can compare it to any other
organization I support, even the U.S. I
defi nitely don’t agree with everything
the United States does as a govern-
ment. It doesn’t mean I want to have
a coup and leave the U.S. and not
support it anymore,” said Zach Weiser,
a Lehigh University sophomore and
the co-president of the school’s Hillel
chapter. “I don’t think it’s fair to hold
another country to that standard
that we wouldn’t even hold our own
country to.”
Miriam Alster/Flash90 via JTA
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Ethan Lavi, another Lehigh sopho-
more and Weiser’s Hillel co-president,
grew up in the United States with
Israeli parents who moved here before
he was born.

He “100% supports the Jewish state,”
he said. But Lavi worries that under the
judicial reform law Netanyahu and the
Knesset would gain too much power.

At the same time, he knows he can’t do
anything about it.

“All I can do is hope that things will
resolve itself,” Lavi said. “I can’t really
participate in protests that will get
noticed because I don’t live there.”
Noah Rubin, a University of
Pennsylvania sophomore and the vice
president of the Penn Israel Public
Aff airs Committee on campus, has an
Israeli father who came to the U.S.

after serving in the Israeli army.

But the son is American and does
not believe he should be asked to
comment on Israel’s internal politics.

As American Jews, “We should just be
happy that Israel is the only democ-
racy in the Middle East and has due
process,” he said.

Rubin believes that it’s his role to
support Israel. He’s in the process
of planning Penn’s Israel Week, with
events about Israeli culture, technol-
ogy and history.

“Just get people excited about being
proud to support Israel,” he said.

Erez Yarden, a Temple University
freshman and active Hillel member,
lived in Israel until he was 6 before
moving to the U.S. with his family.

Yarden does not support the Knesset’s
proposal. But as an American, Yarden is less
focused on his position regarding the
Supreme Court than on his relation-
ships with Israeli friends and family
members. He supports Israel because his people
live there, not because he agrees or
disagrees with the country’s political
system. He wants to keep in touch with
them and make sure that they are still
able to enjoy their lives.

“It’s the people that you’re looking
out for. Israel remains an important
land with important people,” he said.

“You have problematic policies in
every country. It may be unfortunate
that this is a problematic policy. But in
the end, you’re really only caring about
the people.” 1
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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