Senior figures in the chareidi parties are expressing confidence that the new military draft legislation being advanced by MK Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, will clear its second and third readings in less than two weeks.
In closed-door conversations, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni have told associates that committee deliberations are expected to conclude within the coming week. After that, they believe the Knesset’s legal advisers will require only a few additional days to finalize the wording before the bill is brought to the plenum for final votes.
“One of the chareidi faction heads said last night, ‘Two weeks and this will be behind us. I don’t know what will happen on the judicial front, but as far as legislation in the Knesset goes — within two weeks we’re done.’”
According to the report, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has personally assured Deri and Gafni that he will deliver the necessary majority. “We will have 61 supporters. The law will pass,” Netanyahu reportedly told them, despite lingering doubts among some Knesset members that the coalition can indeed secure the votes.
If the law passes as planned, the chareidi parties are expected to back the state budget, paving the way for elections to be held on schedule in roughly a year — unless Netanyahu opts to move them up by several months.
At the same time, skepticism remains within the Knesset. Opponents argue that the coalition’s margin is razor-thin due to the expected opposition of Yitzchok Goldknopf, who is acting on the directive of the Chassidishe Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. MKs Meir Porush and Yitzchok Tessler are also expected to oppose the bill, along with four coalition lawmakers who have already pledged to vote against it. With the coalition hovering at 61 seats, a single additional defection could sink the legislation.
Meanwhile, legal advisers to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee continue to object to several core provisions of the Bismuth draft law. Those objections are expected to complicate the legislation’s defense against anticipated High Court petitions. The position of the Knesset’s legal adviser, attorney Sagit Afik, has not yet been made clear.
“If Afik comes out against the law, pushing it through at any cost would be a grave mistake — the damage would outweigh the benefit,” a senior Shas official involved in the drafting of the bill said.
{Matzav.com}
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday that Democrats in the Senate will take action to stop President Trump’s newly announced tariffs on European countries, arguing the move would further harm the U.S. economy and strain relations with key allies.
“Donald Trump’s foolhardy tariffs have already driven up prices and damaged our economy and now he is only making things worse,” Schumer said in a statement. “It is incredible that he wants to double down on the stupidity by imposing tariffs on our closest allies for his quixotic quest to takeover Greenland.”
“Senate Democrats will introduce legislation to block these tariffs before they do further damage to the American economy and our allies in Europe,” he said.
Trump unveiled the new 10 percent tariffs earlier Saturday, tying them directly to his demand that the United States acquire Greenland. Writing on Truth Social, the president warned that “World Peace is at stake!” and said the tariffs would remain in place “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
“China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” Trump wrote, reiterating his argument that the territory is critical to U.S. national security. “They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently. Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!”
Trump has previously suggested the United States could take control of Greenland through military force, a notion that has drawn broad opposition from lawmakers in Washington and skepticism from much of the American public.
The tariff announcement also prompted criticism from members of Trump’s own party. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both condemned the move, with Tillis saying the tariffs are “bad for America, bad for American businesses, and bad for America’s allies.”
Murkowski warned that the policy risks alienating European partners at a critical moment.
“We are already seeing the consequences of these measures in real time: our NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays directly into Putin’s hands by threatening the stability of the strongest coalition of democracies the world has ever seen,” she wrote on X.
In Europe, leaders signaled that the tariffs were already affecting broader economic relations. Officials announced that a major U.S.–European Union trade agreement celebrated last year by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been put on hold. Von der Leyen said Saturday that tariffs “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
“Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law,” she wrote on X. “They are essential for Europe and for the international community as a whole. We have consistently underlined our shared transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, including through NATO. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise, conducted with allies, responds to the need to strengthen Arctic security and poses no threat to anyone.”
It remains uncertain whether European governments will respond with countermeasures. Karin Karlsboro, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, told Politico that lawmakers could consider deploying an anti-coercion instrument to impose penalties in response to Trump’s latest tariffs.
{Matzav.com}
