2023: Facts and Events in Israel Leading Up to October 7

January 4, 2023: Likud announces controversial judicial overhaul, threatening Israel’s democracy. The bill removes Supreme Court ability to revoke laws passed in Knesset, gives Knesset full control to appoint Supreme Court Judges, and no longer requires MKs (Members of Knesset) to follow legal guidance of the Knesset ‘watchdogs’, Supreme Court Legal Advisers.

January 12, 2023 - Israeli Supreme Court President Esther Hayut warns that Bibi’s plan to overhaul Israel's judicial system is aimed at “crushing” the independent judiciary and, if implemented, will “deal a fatal blow” to the country's democracy

January 14, 2023 - The largest protest crowds in Israeli history begin protesting weekly in Tel Aviv, with 80K week 1 February 13, 2023 – Protests reach an estimated 250,000 Israeli’s

March 5, 2023 – 37 of the 40 fighter pilots in Israel’s elite air force unit, Squadron 69, protested Netanyahu’s actions. March 9, 2023 – Israeli Air Force Officers warn IDF that most reservists will cease flying if overhaul passes

March 22, 2023 – 100 senior Air Force reservists, 100 armored corp officer reservists, and 700 reservists from Nahal Brigade join the 180 reservist pilots, 50 controllers, and 40 drone operators who already announced protests.

March 24, 2023 – Netanyahu forces a Knesset vote on first part of the bill despite protests and warnings not to. Knesset removed the Supreme Court authority to remove the Prime Minister or declare them incapacitated
March 25, 2023 – Yoav Gallant calls for the legislation to be frozen as protest leaders announce unprecedented nationwide “week of paralysis” to upend daily life in the country, including mass protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
March 26, 2023 – Netanyahu fires Yoav Gallant; In response, Israel’s Consul-General in New York resigns and within hours tens of thousands of Israelis are protesting in Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem

March 27, 2023 – Mass protests continue through the night, Universities announce they will strike March 28, shutting down general industry, from airports to petrol stations; The Supreme Court is asked to sanction NetanyahuMarch 29, 2023 – President Biden says Israel “cannot continue down this road”, he will not invite Netanyahu to visit in “near term”, he wants Bibi to “walk away” from overhaul, and he’s very concerned for democracy; Netanyahu retorts: Won’t bow to overseas pressure, even from ‘best of friends’

April 8, 2023 - "The Hundred Days War: Chronicles of a government in chaos and a nation at the bring" details the first 100 days of Bibi's assault on democracy and the division within Israel

April 10, 2023 – Netanyahu reverses his decision to fire Gallant due to pressure from the protest and military strike, which was unprecedented and the first of it’s kind in Israeli history

July 14, 2023 – “The disagreement has led to fears of civil war between the different factions”

July 15, 2023 – A wave of senior fighter pilots, elite commandos and cyber-intelligence specialists will no longer report for duty, and the list of official resignations now includes fighter pilots, flying instructors, drone operators, senior hackers in Unit 8200 and senior reserve officers in Sayeret Matkal, the elite commando unit Netanyahu served in
July 18, 2023 – IDF reservists block military base; Opposition parties have now filed over 27,000 Petitions to stop bill

July 19, 2023 – Joe Biden indicates ‘special relationship’ with Israel is on the line in absence of consensus on overhaul

July 22, 2023 - Le Monde reports 50 members of Unit 8200 (cyber-intelligence), members of the special forces unit Sayeret Matkal, which Bibi served in, hundreds of military doctors, and 161 air force officers cease their volunteer service
July 22, 2023 NPR reports “Hundreds of thousands march in Israel against Netanyahu's judicial overhaul”
July 23, 2023 – Thousands of military pilots and soldiers threaten to not report if Bibi doesn’t back down, thousands of protesters spend up to 6-nights outdoors protesting, form human chain from Western Wall to Knesset

July 23, 2023 - Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) published an “urgent alert” that the IDF is at risk of dissolution; warns of the “adoption of a new strategy, whose core is to crush any Palestinian national aspirations, destroy the option of a political settlement, prepare the conditions for annexation of Area C to Israel, and then create a situation of “one state with Jewish supremacy.” This strategy is expressed by: Exploiting the escalation in terror to convey a “suitable Zionist response”

July 24, 2023 – Knesset votes 64-0 to revoke Supreme Court ability to overrule government decisions. Every member of the Likud coalition voted to remove it, while all 56 MKs who opposed protested by refusing to vote, shouting “Shame” as they left. The Israeli Medical Association announces that 95% of doctors and 73% of interns are holding a 24-hour protest

July 25, 2023 – Moody’s issues “significant risk” credit rating warning on Israeli economy, analysts note “Israeli economy has lost some $81 billion, or 15% of the country’s GDP, because of the judicial reforms and the impact on the economy.”

July 26, 2023 – “Nearly 10,000 military reservists” will refuse to volunteer for duty beginning Monday, July 31, 2023

September 12, 2023 – Supreme Court hearings challenging overhaul begin; all 15 justices hear the appeals to the law together for the first time in the country’s history
September 13, 2023 – Amnesty International: “Stripping Israel’s courts of their oversight powers would give Israeli authorities even greater licence to commit crimes [against Palestinians] under international law, with no trace of restraint.” and “Since December 2022, the Israeli government has escalated longstanding racist rhetoric and systematic violations against Palestinians.”

September 20, 2023 – Biden meets with Netanyahu for the first time since Bibi returned to office, discussing the judicial overhaul crisis, as well as Israel’s treatment to Palestinians, and US support for a two-state solution
September 27, 2023 – Biden adds Israel to the Visa Waiver Program, allowing free travel to America for all Israelis

September 27, 2023 – Egypt contacts Smadar Perry at Jerusalem Post: “an Egyptian intelligence official called me, urging me to relay an important warning. “Something big is about to happen in Gaza,” he said, explaining that Egypt had informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office of the imminent threat. “We warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that something catastrophic was going to happen within days from Hamas against Israel”October 2, 2023 – The Nova Music festival didn't receive approval from Israeli Air Defense, so on October 2: “event organizers asked for the permit to be extended from the Unity part of October 5-6 to October 7 to include the Nova party. The police immediately agreed to the extension, but IDF Gaza Division Head Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld and Northern Brigade Commander Col. Haim Cohen objected at first.”

October 3, 2023 – Another festival, "Land of the Sun" (Eretz HaShemesh) scheduled Oct 3–4 in Kibbutz Lehavot HaBashan in north Israel, is abruptly shut down related to safety concerns of rocket shelters and emergency prep. issues
No links due to geolocation restrictions in the United States (Fuck you Google). Citations are:
1 - Kol HaGalil article: "הפסטיבל בוטל: המארגנים כועסים על הרשויות" (Festival Canceled: Organizers Angry at Authorities")
2 - Kan News article: "פסטיבל בצפון בוטל בדקה ה-90 בשל מחסור במקלטים" (Northern Festival Canceled Last Minute Due to Lack of Shelters")
3 - Yedioth Ahronoth article: "בוטל פסטיבל 'ארץ השמש' בגלל בעיות רישוי" ("Land of the Sun Festival Canceled Due to Permit Issues")
4 - Posts on October 3 on the Festival’s Official Instagram, @eretz.hashemesh

October 3, 2023 – BBC reports Egypt warns Israel of an impending attack: “Hamas is planning something huge”
October 3, 2023 – Haaretz reports “the party was originally planned for Thursday and Friday, with an extra day on Saturday added only on Tuesday of that week”
October 4, 2023 – Times of Israel reports IDF approves the festival to be extended to October 7. “I see that the army isn’t approving October 7, and I turn to the senior officer in the Southern Command, and I ask him a very precise question: Is there some security consideration that I should be aware of?” recalled Eyal Azulai, the commander responsible for the festival, in the TV report. “The answer I received was that the consideration wasn’t about security. In fact, the Southern Command was debating whether to approve the plans for Saturday due to concerns about Hamas activity along the border fence.”

October 4, 2023 – Billboard reports Artists playing at Supernova state the Nova Music Festival’s original location in northern Israel, “falls through” and they’re told of the new festival location in Re’im.
Israeli food and lifestyle platfrom YomYom reports that attendees were notified the same day:
"The party was supposed to take place in Mitzpe Ramon, but the day before it turned out that the organizers had not received permission and decided to attach it to another party that was supposed to take place in the Re'im area. We only received the exact location of the party when we were already on our way. When I heard about the location, which was right on the border, I said to the guys in the car with me - do you understand that we are going to dance with Hamas?"

October 6, 2023 – American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin was in Israel to attend "Land of the Sun" (Eretz HaShemesh), the other festival scheduled for Oct 3–4 in Kibbutz Lehavot HaBashan, far from the Gaza border in northern Israel. He "left at 11 p.m. to go to the Supernova desert festival", because the Eretz HaShemesh festival was cancelled

October 6-7, 2023 - Top Israeli defense officials held urgent overnight consultations about a possible Hamas attack. Officials "received warnings the night before that the organization would try to stage an attack inside Israel."
"A second consultation, which included now Ronen Bar, the Shin Bet chief, took place at about 3 A.M. Saturday. The commander of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, Col. Haim Cohen, who signed the papers on October 5 authorizing the Nova party, was aware of the warnings, and knew about the urgent meetings that were taking place that night."
At 4 A.M., following concerns by some in the security establishment, a few teams of the special anti-terror unit at the Latrun base, were notified to be on alert until dawn.
*The first IDF forces only arrived at the party scene at 3 P.M."