Israel's Netanyahu Recovers from Heart Procedure while Tensions Surge over Judicial Overhaul Plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recovering in hospital on Sunday after an emergency heart procedure while opposition to his government's contentious judicial overhaul plan reached a fever pitch and unrest gripped the country.
Netanyahu's doctors said on Sunday the heart pacemaker implantation went smoothly and that Netanyahu, 73, felt fine. According to his office, he was expected to be discharged later in the day. But tensions were surging as lawmakers were to begin a marathon debate Sunday morning over the first major piece of the overhaul, ahead of a vote in parliament enshrining it into law on Monday.
Mass protests were set to continue. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Saturday night, while thousands marched into Jerusalem and camped out near the Knesset, or parliament, ahead of Monday's vote, The Associated Press reported.
Netanyahu's sudden hospitalization added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events that are certain to shape Israel's future. It comes as the longest-serving Israeli leader faces the gravest challenge of his leadership and the country's worst domestic crisis which has shaken the economy, forged cracks in the country's military and tested the delicate social fabric that holds the polarized country together.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the hospitalization would have an effect on the legislative process. The weekly Cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday morning was postponed and Israeli Army Radio reported that a security assessment of the effect of the legal dispute on the military was also taken off Netanyahu's schedule.
In announcing the hospitalization, Netanyahu’s office said that he would be sedated and that a top deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would stand in for him while he underwent the procedure. Levin, a close confidant of the prime minister, is the mastermind of the overhaul.
In a brief video statement before the implantation, Netanyahu said he “feels excellent” and planned to push forward with the judicial overhaul as soon as he was released, adding that he expected to be released in time to go to the Knesset for Monday’s vote.
Netanyahu was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night a week after being hospitalized for what doctors said was dehydration. They released him after implanting a device to monitor his heart but he was hospitalized again Sunday because it showed anomalies, prompting the need for a pacemaker.
Professor Roy Beinart, a senior physician and director at the Davidai Arrhythmia Center at Sheba Medical Center’s Heart Institute, said in a video that the prime minister needed the pacemaker because he experienced “a temporary arrhythmia,” or irregular heartbeat, Saturday evening.
“The implantation went smoothly, without any complications. He is not in a life-threatening condition," Beinart said. "He feels great and is returning to his daily routine.”
Further ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli leader, military reservists in fast-rising numbers have been declaring their refusal to serve under a government taking steps that they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship. Those moves have prompted fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.
Among them are essential fighter pilots and ground air force personnel. Some 10,000 reservists from across the military announced Saturday night that they too would stop showing up for duty. Over 100 retired security chiefs publicly supported the growing ranks of military reservists who say they will stop reporting for duty if the plan is passed.
Netanyahu and his far-right allies announced the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office. They claim the plan is needed to curb what they say are the excessive powers of unelected judges. Critics say the plan will destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and put it on the path toward authoritarian rule. US President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to halt the plan and seek a broad consensus.
Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure from protesters and labor strikes that halted outgoing flights and shut down parts of the economy. After talks to find a compromise failed, he said his government was pressing on with the overhaul.
Netanyahu keeps a busy schedule and his office says he is in good health. But over the years, it has released few details concerning his well-being or medical records.
A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart beats too slowly, which can cause fainting spells, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also be used to treat heart failure. By sending electrical pulses to the heart, the device keeps a person’s heartbeat at a normal rhythm. Patients with pacemakers often return to regular activities within a few days, according to NIH. A hospital stay of at least a day is usually required.
Legislators are set to vote on an overhaul measure that would limit the Supreme Court's oversight powers by preventing judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.” Monday’s vote would mark the first major piece of legislation to be approved.
Proponents say the current “reasonability” standard gives judges excessive powers over decision-making by elected officials. Critics say removing the standard, which is invoked infrequently, would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions, make improper appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.
The overhaul also calls for other sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions, to changing the way judges are selected.
Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu — who is on trial for corruption charges — and his partners who want to deepen Israel’s control of the occupied West Bank and perpetuate controversial draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

President Joe Biden looked to recapture his mojo and reassured donors at a Saturday fundraiser that he is fully up to the challenge of beating Donald Trump.

"I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder," Biden told attendees at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. "Donald Trump is a genuine threat to the nation," he emphasized, saying that his predecessor would undermine democracy if returned to the White House and his economic ideas would worsen inflation.

The 81-year-old's troubling performance at the first presidential debate Thursday rattled many Democrats, who see Trump as a continuing danger after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Biden's meandering answers and struggles to respond to Trump prompted The New York Times editorial board to declare Friday that he should exit the race and that staying in would be a "reckless gamble."

A White House official said Saturday that Biden had preplanned time at Camp David on Sunday and Monday for a family photo, disputing the premise of an NBC News report suggesting that Biden would be discussing the future of his reelection campaign with his family. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss Biden family matters.

Biden was seen talking by phone with Jon Meacham, the historian, on his way Saturday night to Camp David.

Biden and his wife, Jill, earlier attended an afternoon campaign event in East Hampton, New York, the Long Island beach town where the real estate firm Zillow prices the median home at $1.9 million. Based on public records, the event that was closed to the news media was at the home of Avram Glazer, an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.

The couple then went to a second event in East Hampton at the home of investor Barry Rosenstein, whose wife, Lizanne, said the president was "a role model for what it is to get knocked down over and over and over again and get up."

"We can waste time comparing debate nights," she continued. "But you know what? It’s more meaningful to compare presidencies."

Addressing the gathering, Biden tore into Trump over his presidential record including his treatment of veterans and pointed to Trump's own poor performance on Thursday night.

Biden contended that the polling he’s seen shows that Democrats moved up after the debate, saying of Trump: "The big takeaway was his lies."

In the aftermath of that debate, Biden flashed more vigor in speeches in North Carolina and New York on Friday, saying he believes with "all my heart and soul" that he can do the job of the presidency.

The Biden campaign said it has raised more than $27 million on Thursday and Friday.

Jill Biden told supporters Friday that he said to her after the debate, "You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great." The first lady then said she responded to him, "Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president."

The Democratic president still needs to allay the fears stirred by the debate as it seeped into the public conscience with clips and memes spreading on the internet and public pressure for him to bow out of the race.

Democratic donors across New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concerns about the viability of Biden’s campaign in the wake of his debate performance.

In a series of text message chains and private conversations, they discussed the short list of possible replacements, a group that included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

But on Friday, there was no formal push to pressure Biden to step aside and some suspected there never would be given the logistical challenges associated with replacing the presumptive nominee just four months before Election Day.

Some donors noted they were going to pause their personal giving. They said receipts from Biden’s weekend fundraiser would almost certainly be strong because the tickets were sold and paid for before the debate.

Israel's Netanyahu Recovers from Heart Procedure while Tensions Surge over Judicial Overhaul Plan