Over 300,000 protest, ex-Treasury officials warn, as coalition presses on with overhaul blitz * PM swipes at AG * Smotrich lands in DC *Top cop sorry for firing TLV chief

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Sunday, March 12, 2023 [Anti-overhaul protesters call to turn up heat as over 300,000 estimated at rallies]( By ToI Staff Organizers claim half a million attend weekly protests, plan ‘day of escalating resistance’ on Thursday; coalition scheduled to drive contentious bills through Knesset committee [Former AG Mandelblit bashes overhaul: ‘Collision is preferable to a bad compromise’]( By ToI Staff [Netanyahu swipes at AG: In a democracy, government is responsible for police, army]( By ToI Staff PM’s comment comes after Baharav-Miara froze Tel Aviv police chief’s transfer ordered by Ben Gvir, and warned against bill to grant security forces immunity from prosecution [Smotrich lands in DC, where hundreds plan to protest speech at Israel Bonds confab]( By Jacob Magid Finance minister to meet with leaders in Jewish, global business communities; but US officials, liberal Jewish groups are boycotting him after ‘wipe out’ Huwara remark [Police chief admits he was wrong to oust Tel Aviv’s top cop, says he’s not resigning]( By ToI Staff After intense public criticism of Amichai Eshed’s removal at Ben Gvir’s prodding, Kobi Shabtai says he’s done ‘soul-searching’ in past 48 hours but will not walk away from task [Police question journalist outside his home over anti-Netanyahu tweet]( By Ash Obel [Source close to Netanyahu accuses US of funding rallies against judicial overhaul]( By Shalom Yerushalmi PM’s son shares Breitbart’s claim that State Department funded protest group; senior official says AG ‘irredeemably audacious’ for freezing transfer of Tel Aviv police chief [Likud minister slams ‘hysterical’ Herzog speech calling for overhaul to be abandoned]( By ToI Staff [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing Mar 12: How lack of trust is stymieing judicial overhaul negotiations]( By ToI Staff [Former Treasury officials: Overhaul will ‘severely, irreversibly’ damage economy]( By ToI Staff Ex-staffers in Budgets Department call for immediate halt to legislative blitz; warn capital will flee and shekel devalue, leading to drop in state revenues and spending cuts [Ex-Federal Reserve head Bernanke: Israeli legal shakeup to cause ‘tremendous damage’]( By ToI Staff Live updates [LIVE: Ex-AG: Looming constitutional crisis will ostracize Israel from ‘family of nations’]( By Amy Spiro Avichai Mandelblit says if controversial judicial overhaul passes, Israel’s Declaration of Independence will become nothing more than ‘a piece of paper we can throw in the trash’ Top Ops Susie Gelman [Smotrich’s US visit is a defining moment for Israel supporters]( The minister’s views threaten the foundations of modern Israel – he should not be given a platform in Washington Chuck Freilich [What would the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander say?]( Who needs to destroy the Zionists when they’re doing the job themselves? An imagined memo from Gen. Hossein Salami [Security forces’ immunity bill paused after AG warns of potential prosecution abroad]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn Police minister Ben Gvir accuses Baharav-Miara of ‘automatically’ opposing soldier-focused legislation, prompting Likud to delay its advancement by a week [DC think tank lists Israel as only free Mideast nation, but warns of legal shakeup]( By ToI Staff [How lack of trust is stymieing judicial overhaul negotiations]( [listen to the podcast]( [Tel Aviv shares drop as SVB failure triggers cash-flow concern for Israeli startups]( By Sharon Wrobel LeumiTech says it helped Israeli startups transfer $1 billion out of SVB accounts; government pledges to help tech firms [After US tech bank’s collapse, Netanyahu pledges to help Israeli firms ‘if needed’]( By ToI Staff and AP From the blogs; PART 2 OF 5 Dan Ben-David [Government priorities pivoted in the 1970s. Israelis today are paying the price]( Traffic jams and packed hospitals are just two results of decades of placing sectoral interests above national ones [IDF troops come under fire in West Bank, shoot and kill 3 gunmen]( By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff Another Palestinian assailant turns himself in and is taken for questioning following incident near Jit, west of Nablus [IAF fighter jets, refuelers hold air drill with US forces, thought to focus on Iran]( By Emanuel Fabian Two-week exercises simulate ‘strategic strike’ in unfamiliar enemy territory with ‘abundance of anti-aircraft defenses’ [Syria accuses Israel of rare daytime strike, says 3 soldiers wounded]( By Emanuel Fabian [Iran reports highest oil exports yet since US applied sanctions over nuclear deal]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [Barrier-busting women-only album of Hasidic tunes gives new voice to aging nigunim]( By Jessica Steinberg ‘Kapelya’ marks the debut album for Chana Raskin, whose Chabad upbringing led her into exploring sacred music with other women, breaking into a club once reserved solely for men Analysis Robbie COREY-BOULET [Reestablishment of Saudi-Iran ties adds twist to Israel’s Arab outreach]( One analyst calls China-brokered deal ‘a clear diplomatic victory for Iran’ and ‘a blow’ to Netanyahu, but others argue it may not be such terrible news for Jerusalem [CRM]( More Headlines [Israel begins drill simulating receipt of international earthquake aid]( By Emanuel Fabian [New York urges residents to get vaccinated against polio before travel to Israel]( By ToI Staff [Iran says more than 100 arrested over poisonings that hurt thousands of schoolgirls]( By AFP [Pence: Trump ‘endangered my family’ on January 6, history will hold him accountable]( By Zeke Miller and CHRIS MEGERIAN [US authorities arrest Israeli accused of defrauding $47 million from Orthodox Jews]( By ToI Staff [3 arrested in Rahat, including mayor’s sons, for illegal possession of firearms]( By ToI Staff [Man killed, several hurt in Tel Aviv apartment fire]( By ToI Staff [Elderly woman killed in multi-car collision in central Israel]( By ToI Staff [Prof. Aryeh Levin, linguist and father of justice minister, dies at 85]( [The daily edition]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? 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