美国国家公共电台 NPR--Protests against Israel's government took a turn when police used force

Protests against Israel's government took a turn when police used force

Transcript¹

Israeli police broke up protests by Israelis who blocked roads to oppose government plans to weaken the judiciary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the protesters to West Bank rioters.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In Israel, weeks of protests took a major turn yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In particular, police used force for the first time against the crowds. Also, for the first time, thousands of Israeli protesters blocked major intersections² throughout the day. They even besieged³ a salon⁴ where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife was getting her hair done. This protester opposes the Israeli government's attempts to weaken the powers of the judiciary.

DVORA COHEN: We don't want to lose our country, and we know this is the last fight. If we're going to lose now, that's it. It's done.

INSKEEP: Of course, this comes after a violent time in the occupied West Bank.

FADEL: NPR's Daniel Estrin has been speaking to protesters and joins us from Tel Aviv.

Good morning, Daniel.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So these protests have been going on for weeks. What made yesterday's protests so significant?

ESTRIN: Israel hasn't seen anything like what happened yesterday. The Jewish mainstream⁶ disrupted the country all day long. I mean, we're talking about people who call themselves patriots⁷, elite⁸ military veterans. Some protesters stopped trains, blocked roads. A lot of that was actually coordinated⁹ with the police. But then the far-right security minister told police to crack down, and officers did. They used stun¹⁰ grenades, water cannons¹¹. Some protesters and officers got lightly injured. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the protesters anarchists¹². He actually compared them to the Israeli settlers who went on a violent rampage earlier this week in the West Bank where Palestinian homes were burned, and a Palestinian man was killed.

FADEL: It seems like an unfair comparison. These protesters were not setting buildings on fire, right?

ESTRIN: No.

FADEL: What do the protesters want to achieve?

ESTRIN: No, they weren't setting buildings on fire. They were trying to get the government to stop advancing legislation that limits the Supreme¹³ Court's ability to strike down laws that don't guarantee basic freedoms. These protesters are fearing for Israel's future, and all of this is affecting Israel's strong economy, Leila. The shekel has depreciated¹⁴ this past month. And that protester we heard at the beginning, Dvora Cohen, she is a financial adviser¹⁵. I met her on the street. And she says her Israeli clients are losing confidence. Let's listen.

COHEN: Twenty, 30% of my clients are calling me and asking me what to do. They ask me if they should go and open a bank account abroad, if they should withdraw their pensions because this is the situation that we are at. But every day, something new is happening - something more extreme, more shocking.

ESTRIN: You know, she's referring there also to the recent violence in the West Bank.

FADEL: So, Daniel, with these protests in Israel and the recent violence in the occupied West Bank, where do you see all this heading?

ESTRIN: Well, Netanyahu says he is ready for dialogue with the opposition¹⁶. There are some attempts for a compromise for some kind of watered-down version of this controversial judicial¹⁷ legislation. There is also some friction¹⁸ within Netanyahu's own governing coalition¹⁹, and that makes some people here wonder if the government's days are numbered. Netanyahu is defending his comparison of the West Bank settlers who went on a rampage earlier this week and yesterday's protesters. He says he was referring to both as being lawbreakers. But, you know, Israel has made very, very few arrests out of the hundreds of Israeli settlers who went on that rampage. And Israel's far-right finance minister actually said that that Palestinian town where the rampage took place should be wiped out. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price called those comments disgusting. He said Netanyahu should disavow them. Netanyahu has not done so yet.

FADEL: NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much, Daniel.

ESTRIN: You're welcome.

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 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

3 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

4 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

5 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。

6 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

7 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

8 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

11 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 anarchists   

无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Anarchists demand the destruction of structures of oppression including the country itself. "无政府主义者要求摧毁包括国家本身在内的压迫人民的组织。
• Unsurprisingly, Ms Baburova had a soft spot for anarchists. 没什么奇怪的，巴布罗娃女士倾向于无政府主义。

13 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。

14 depreciated   

v.贬值，跌价，减价( depreciate的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低，蔑视，轻视

参考例句：

• Fixed assets are fully depreciated. 折旧足额。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Shares in the company have depreciated. 该公司的股票已经贬值。 来自辞典例句

15 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 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。

18 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

19 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。