美国国家公共电台 NPR--Benjamin Netanyahu pauses his plan to weaken Israel's court system

Benjamin Netanyahu pauses his plan to weaken Israel's court system

Transcript¹

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed his plan to implement² changes that would weaken the judiciary after opposition³ to the plan caused widespread, disruptive protests.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So as A said, these protests have been going on for months. But would you just remind us about why so many Israelis have been so infuriated about this judicial⁴ overhaul⁵ and what made Netanyahu walk it back?

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁶: You know, Israelis really see this as a battle for the soul of their country. The far right is in power, along with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and his coalition⁷ wants to advance ultranationalist religious laws. And the only ones that would likely stand in their way is the Supreme⁸ Court. So Netanyahu has been saying the court should not have all the power that it does have over the elected majority. He's been advancing all kinds of laws to try to reduce the court's independence. But many Israelis in the streets say this is a threat of dictatorship. So Netanyahu has backed down for now. There's been unprecedented⁹ public pressure. There's been even some of his own party supporters turning on him. And the White House exerted a ton of pressure. I spoke¹⁰ with a person familiar with the matter who told me about multiple phone calls on multiple levels between the White House and Israel. And that may have helped Netanyahu convince his partners to put on the brakes.

MARTIN: So what's the mood now after all this?

ESTRIN: It's really been a confusing morning. In some ways, normalcy is back. The labor¹¹ strike has been canceled. So the airport, the malls, even McDonald's is back open again today. But there is a lot of uncertainty¹². For instance, is the defense¹³ minister actually fired? Netanyahu, fired him just a couple days ago. Is the legislation actually dead? Those who support the judicial overhaul don't trust that Netanyahu will actually pass it now. This is Amitai Ruskin.

AMITAI RUSKIN: If you delay it, it will never be restarted. It was taken out to the shed and it was shot.

ESTRIN: And then I spoke with people who oppose the judicial overhaul, and they think Netanyahu will actually carry it out. But these protesters are feeling encouraged by their show of force in the streets. Listen to this one. He was blocking a road last night - in his 20s, Matan Rosenberg.

MATAN ROSENBERG: And what happened to me, as a secular¹⁴ liberal, is, for a decade, my generation and all these people were just avoiding politics at any cost. And what Bibi did - and I'm happy for that, I thank him for that - is waking up the liberal camp.

ESTRIN: You know, Michel, I should say last night, far-right activists¹⁵ harassed¹⁶ some Palestinians, some of these democracy protesters also, and police sprayed the protesters with water cannons¹⁷.

MARTIN: So, Daniel, before we let you go, what do you think we can expect in the coming weeks? And what effect is this having on Netanyahu's leadership? I mean, is there a chance that he will not survive this?

ESTRIN: That's a big question. I mean, Netanyahu could just drop this judicial overhaul and promote another part of his coalition's religious, ultranationalist agenda. He does need to placate¹⁸ his hard-right coalition partners so that he can stay in power. That's the best place for him to be while he's on corruption¹⁹ trial. He even placated²⁰ his far-right security minister last night, promising²¹ him his own National Guard, which many people see as a scary prospect²². But, you know, Michel, Netanyahu will do anything he can to survive. The polls are showing his political support has dropped. He, for now, has narrowly survived this.

MARTIN: NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you.

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 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 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。

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 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

10 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。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

13 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。

14 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

17 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》

18 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

19 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

20 placated   

v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She hardly knew how to answer this, and yet her wrath was not placated. 她几乎不知道该如何来回答他，然而她的怒气并没有气息。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

21 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

22 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。