美国国家公共电台 NPR--As Israel's judicial overhaul legislation faces a final vote, protesters don't let up

As Israel's judicial¹ overhaul² legislation faces a final vote, protesters don't let up

Transcript³

Mass protests are taking place in Israel over the firing of defense⁴ minister Yoav Gallant⁵, after he spoke⁶ out against plans to weaken the country's judicial system.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Protests have escalated⁷ in Israel on a day that could determine the future of the country.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister over the weekend.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Hebrew).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Hebrew).

MARTIN: Yoav Gallant had said protests against the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul had spread inside the military, causing a threat to national security. Protesters have gathered outside the Parliament, where Netanyahu's coalition⁸ is preparing for a final vote on the legislation, even as Israeli media report Netanyahu may be considering a freeze.

MART?NEZ: Now, for the latest, we turn to NPR's Daniel Estrin. He is joining us now from Jerusalem.

Daniel, it's pretty loud there. What do you got going on there?

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁹: You know, A, this is a dramatic, consequential¹⁰ moment in Israel. Israel's largest trade union has called a national strike. Flights are currently grounded. Hospitals are canceling nonurgent treatments. And things escalated really quickly last night, when I was caught on the highway. There was a spontaneous protest, erupted in the middle of the road, thousands of protesters, because Netanyahu fired his defense minister. He was the only government minister who came out opposing the judicial overhaul. So he fired him. Listen to this protester who approached me, Yanai Or (ph).

YANAI OR: The prime minister doesn't understand that he's disconnected from what's going on. He's not doing enough to calm the energy up. That's very scary because it could lead to civil war or something similar because, you know, people here are scared of no leadership.

ESTRIN: Well, now leadership, security officials are meeting today. Reportedly, they met and said that there is an immediate¹¹ threat that Israel's regional enemies could attack at this moment when the country is weak and divided. I am now gathered outside Parliament where protesters are gathering¹², and everyone here is waiting to hear, will Netanyahu announce that he's putting a stop to his judicial overhaul? It was supposed to go to a final vote today.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. These overhauls¹³ include having control of judicial appointments and also maybe overriding¹⁴ Supreme¹⁵ Court decisions. What are the chances that he doesn't go through with it, announces that freeze?

ESTRIN: Well, if he does announce that he's freezing the core part of the legislation, which would be allowing the government to have some control over appointing Supreme Court justices - if he does freeze that legislation, he could try to hold a dialogue with the opposition¹⁶ and reach a compromise. But, you know, there's just too much bad blood. There is a complete lack of trust in Netanyahu. We've seen civil society erupt in a way that we've never seen before. Universities are canceled today as well. It's hard to see how Netanyahu's government moves forward at this moment with such a massive protest.

MART?NEZ: What would be those implications, though, if he does freeze? I mean, where does he go from there?

ESTRIN: Well, that is the question. If he does come out - and he is right now huddling¹⁷ with his government, trying to understand whether his government could fall if he announces he's canceling this legislation. You know, he could say he's taking Israel back from the brink¹⁸ of potential violence at this moment of turmoil¹⁹. But whether or not he manages to survive this and actually stay in power with such massive protests - it's really hard to see that, A. The Pandora's box has been opened in Israel, and we don't know where it's headed.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem.

Daniel, thank you very much.

ESTRIN: Thank you, A.

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 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

8 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。

9 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。

10 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 overhauls   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的第三人称单数 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• The plant overhauls 8 locomotive, manufactures and repairs 100 train vehicles annually. 年机车解体大修8部，修、制各类型铁路车辆百余辆。 来自互联网
• The wind turbine generator overhauls what is the standard flow? 风机检修的的标准流程是什么？ 来自互联网

14 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

15 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。

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 huddling   

n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

参考例句：

• Twenty or thirty monkeys are huddling along the thick branch. 三十只猴子挤在粗大的树枝上。
• The defenders are huddling down for cover. 捍卫者为了掩护缩成一团。

18 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

19 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。