TEL AVIV Israel 's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests. The approval comes as Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is locked in a standoff with the supreme court after beginning proceedings to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and announcing the sacking of Ronen