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Supporters of Israel’s Judicial Overhaul Rally in Jerusalem

An aerial view shows right-wing demonstrators at a protest calling on the Israeli government to complete its planned judicial overhaul, in front of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows right-wing demonstrators at a protest calling on the Israeli government to complete its planned judicial overhaul, in front of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Supporters of Israel’s Judicial Overhaul Rally in Jerusalem

An aerial view shows right-wing demonstrators at a protest calling on the Israeli government to complete its planned judicial overhaul, in front of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows right-wing demonstrators at a protest calling on the Israeli government to complete its planned judicial overhaul, in front of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Tens of thousands of right-wing Israelis who support a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judiciary flocked to Jerusalem on Thursday to rally for the proposal, which has prompted some of the biggest protests in Israel's history.

After 16 weeks of protests against the overhaul that brought parts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to a standstill, Thursday marked a rare mobilization of massive public support for the divisive plan.

Crowds of Israelis transformed a major Jerusalem thoroughfare into a sea of blue and white national flags. Some protesters stomped on a carpet displaying the faces of Israel's Supreme Court president and former attorney general.

“We will not give up,” ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the rally.

“We have the people, they have the media," he said, referring to the government's critics that he accuses of exerting undue influence over the news media.

The masses snaking down Kaplan Street railed against their opponents and chanted slogans in support of the judicial plan, which Netanyahu delayed last month after mass anti-government protests — mainly by secular and liberal Israelis — intensified and even threatened to paralyze the economy.

The anti-overhaul movement also drew legions of pilots and officers in elite military reserve units who threatened not to report for service. High-tech business leaders and former officials also came out against the changes.

Right-wing Israelis — disappointed in the government's failure to push through the legislation before the parliament's recess earlier this month — escalated their demands for Netanyahu's far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition to fulfill its promises. Israeli media estimated some 80,000 people had gathered in Jerusalem for Thursday's rally — many of them bused in from across the country.

“The people want judicial reform,” the protesters yelled. At the end of his speech, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has spearheaded the overhaul push, joined the chant.

A banner onstage read: “The elections will not be stolen from us.”

Supporters of the overhaul argue it is needed to rein in a system of judges who are unelected and overly interventionist in political issues. Netanyahu's coalition of right-wing and religious allies, which took office late last year, captured a majority of 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

Opponents contend the overhaul is a power grab that would weaken a system of checks and balances and concentrate authority in the hands of the prime minister and his extremist allies. They also say that Netanyahu has a conflict of interest in trying to reshape the nation’s legal system at a time when he is on trial.

“I am deeply moved by the tremendous support,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter about Thursday's demonstration.

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Kamala Harris Made History as Vice President. The Rest Didn't Go as Planned

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Kamala Harris Made History as Vice President. The Rest Didn't Go as Planned

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House only days away, Kamala Harris ' staff packed into her ceremonial office to watch her sign the desk, a tradition performed by her predecessors for decades. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, stood behind her to take a photo as she wielded her Sharpie marker.
"It is not my nature to go quietly into the night," Harris said Thursday. “So don't worry about that.”
But what is next for her?
“I'll keep you posted," she said.
Harris hasn't made any plans for after leaving office Monday, apart from flying home to California. It will be the first time since 2004, when she became San Francisco's district attorney, that she hasn't held elected office.
There's talk that she'll write a book and speculation that she could run for governor or maybe president again. At 60 years old, Harris is still young in a political world where the last two presidents have set records as the oldest ever elected.
Donna Brazile, a longtime leader in the Democratic Party, recalled telling Harris that she needs to take a break and “learn what it's like to oversleep” for a while. They both laughed, and Brazile said, "Yeah, you’ll never go back to being ordinary.”
Brazile was campaign manager for Al Gore, the last sitting vice president to run for the top job.
“I’ve had more people call me about what’s next for Kamala Harris than called me about what’s next for Al Gore," she said.
Harris' term was both ordinary and extraordinary. Like many of her predecessors, she spent her time tending to a portfolio of issues — migration, abortion rights and maternal health among them — and representing the country overseas. Sometimes she struggled to distinguish herself, a common challenge in a job that comes with little constitutional responsibility.
But Harris also made history as the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. And last year, Harris was thrust into an unprecedented situation when President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her as his successor.
There were only 107 days left in the campaign, leaving Harris in a sprint for the presidency. She instantly reset the terms of the race against Trump, who is nearly two decades older than her, but was unable to defeat him.
Many Democrats blamed Biden for running in the first place and putting Harris in an impossible position. Harris faced her own criticism, too.
Some said she should have sent a more populist message instead of focusing on Trump's antidemocratic threats by campaigning with Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman. She also failed to separate herself from Biden, who remains deeply unpopular with voters.
Minyon Moore, who chaired last year's Democratic National Convention, downplayed the criticisms by saying “ifa, woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
With Harris facing such an unusual campaign, Moore said, “there was no road map for what she should have done.”
Harris hasn't answered questions about her loss, nor has she shared her own perspective on the election. Her public remarks have been limited to rallying cries for students and others who are disappointed by Trump's victory, especially after Democrats described him as an existential threat to the country.
“No one can walk away," Harris said in one speech. "We must stay in the fight. Every one of us.”
Harris hoped to close out her term with an around-the-world trip to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, a final opportunity to showcase her role on foreign policy. But she decided to stay in Washington as wildfires spread around Los Angeles. Her own house, in the Brentwood neighborhood, has been in an evacuation zone.
Harris didn't travel to the area because she was concerned about diverting local resources from responding to the fire, according to an official in her office who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her planning.
Despite canceling her overseas trip, Harris has signaled her interest in remaining involved on the global stage. She's spent time in her final week in office making calls to foreign leaders including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo.
On Wednesday, she was in the Oval Office to watch Biden give his farewell address. He described her as “a great partner,” and they embraced after the speech.
Biden chose Harris as his running mate after her first presidential campaign stalled four years ago. After taking office, her schedule was limited by the coronavirus pandemic and her obligations on Capitol Hill. With the US Senate evenly divided, she was often called on to cast tiebreaking votes, eventually setting a record as she helped advance judicial nominees and landmark legislation.
“She had to find her role," said Joel Goldstein, a historian who has studied the vice presidency. "It took some time to figure it out.”
Moore remembered an Oval Office meeting with Harris and other senior advisers as Biden deliberated whom to nominate for the US Supreme Court. Although it was unlikely that a liberal justice would have many opportunities to write majority opinions on a court dominated by conservatives, Moore said Harris focused on which candidate would harness the platform to issue dissenting opinions.
Harris wanted “somebody who could think through the nuances of writing those dissensions,” Moore said. Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, fulfilling his promise to put a Black woman on the bench, and she's often drawn attention for her sharp dissenting opinions.
One of Harris' original tasks, reducing migration from Central America, became a political burden. Republicans described her as the “border czar” and blamed her for illegal crossings. However, fewer migrants came from the countries where Harris focused her efforts.
She met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich shortly before the Russian invasion began three years ago, and she spent a week in Africa to lay the groundwork for renewed US engagement.
Harris also traveled three times to Southeast Asia as the administration tried to reorient foreign policy to confront China's influence.
“She had the perception that we could use even more of an emphasis on this occasionally overlooked part of the world," said Phil Gordon, Harris' national security adviser.
Abortion rights became a defining issue for Harris after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Biden was more hesitant on the topic, and Harris started headlining the White House's efforts.
Lorraine Voles, Harris' chief of staff, said the court decision was “a turning point" for the vice president.
“That opened up a lane for her in a way that maybe wasn’t there previously," she said. "People were not focused on the issue of maternal health and reproductive health until people began to see it threatened.”
Nadia Brown, a Georgetown University government professor who focuses on Black women and politics, said Harris will “certainly go down in the history books” for breaking down racial and gender barriers in politics.
She said Harris' time as vice president helped expand the views of "everyday Americans who might have misconceptions about what a leader could be or should be.”
The only question left is what Harris decides to do now.
“It’s not over," Brown said. "But I’m not sure what that next chapter is.”