Israel protests: BBC News Review

Israel protests: Netanyahu under pressure.

This is News Review from BBC

Learning English, where we help you understand news headlines in English.

I'm Beth. And I'm Georgie.

Make sure you watch to the end to learn the vocabulary

you need to talk about this story.

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from the headlines. Now, today's story.

Tens of thousands of Israelis

have taken part in the country's biggest anti-government protest

since the 7th of October attack by Hamas.

The protesters want Prime Minister Netanyahu to resign

for failing to bring home

the remaining 130 Israeli hostages still in Gaza

and other issues.

It is not known how many are still alive.

Netanyahu says he is doing everything he can

and intends to remain as prime minister.

Around 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza

since the start of Israel's military response to the attack,

according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

You've been looking at the headlines. What's the vocabulary

that people need to understand this news story in English?

We have: on show, up against a wall and play into someone's hands.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

Let's have our first headline.

This one's from BBC

News. Israel:

Benjamin Netanyahu protests put political divides back on show.

So this headline is about the recent protests against Netanyahu

and how they are highlighting political tensions.

We're looking at 'on show'.

Now, a show is a performance, like a concert

or a play – something that grabs your attention.

Georgie, is that what's happening here?

Yes, if something is on show

it means that everyone can see it.

It's on display, a bit like the verb 'show'.

If I show you my script, Beth,

it means that I've put it somewhere that you can see it.

So, in this story, the protests in Israel mean

that the political divides have become more obvious.

Yes, and political divides 'put back on show' means that they were on show

in the past, and now

they are on show again.

Can you give us some other examples of 'on show'?

Well, it's often used in the context of art and exhibitions.

So, an artist's paintings can be on show in an art gallery

or dinosaur bones can be on show in a fossil exhibition, for example.

That's right. OK, let's look at that again.

Let's have a look at our next headline.

This one's from People's Dispatch. Netanyahu up

against a wall as domestic pressure grows for a hostage deal.

So this headline is about one of the reasons for the protests – Israelis

want their hostages back.

Now we're looking at the idiom

against a wall.

Now, if I were literally against a wall,

I would feel quite trapped.

Is that what's happening here?

Yes, that's right. To be up against a wall means

that you're in a very bad or difficult position.

OK. So moving away from the horrors of war, a more everyday situation,

if my boss asks me to work in the evenings,

it means I can't spend time with my family. They are

two things I need to do or want to do,

and I can't do them at the same time,

so I feel up against a wall. I feel trapped.

Yes, we also have the phrase 'up against it' with a similar meaning. 'Up against it'

and 'up against a wall'

both mean you're facing big problems,

but 'up against it' has an added element of being under time pressure.

So if I have a lot of work to do before a work deadline

that's coming very soon,

I might tell you that I feel up against it.

OK, let's look at that again.

Let's have our next headline.

This one's from Times of Israel. As protesters demand he go,

Netanyahu argues election would play into Hamas's hands.

So the protesters want Netanyahu to go.

But he says that this would play into Hamas's hands. Now, Georgie,

what does it mean to play into someone's hands?

Well, the idiom comes from card playing. The collection of cards

that you're holding in a card game is called your hand.

If you play into someone else's hands,

it means that you give your opponent an advantage and damage yourself.

Right. So, Netanyahu thinks that if he leaves government,

it will help his enemy - Hamas.

It will play into their hands.

Exactly. We can also add the word 'right' to add emphasis. Again

moving to a less serious situation than war,

if a football player is sent off the pitch

with a red card, that plays right into the other team's hands.

That team has an advantage because they have more players.

Yes, that's right. Or for example, if a spy trips over and makes a loud noise,

it plays right into the enemy's hands because now

they know where the spy is hiding.

OK, let's look at that again.

We've had: on show –

obvious for people to see, up against a wall –

in a difficult position, and play into someone's hands –

give your opponents an advantage.

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