Several thousand protesters supporting the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul rallied in front of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Thursday, before a pivotal hearing next week on the legality of the first major bill of the overhaul.
The bill, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition passed in July, bans the Supreme Court from striking down government decisions it deems unreasonable.
With leading politicians signaling they won’t respect a court decision striking down the law, the stage could be set for a constitutional crisis. The hearing is set for Tuesday, though a ruling is likely months away.
Brandishing signs with the words “end the judicial dictatorship” and “the elites are taking control,” protesters said the overhaul was necessary to rein in the power of unelected justices.
“The Supreme Court is on the way to becoming the dictator of Israel,” protester Avram Farber said. “It’s trying to push for making the Israeli government — that enjoys a majority in the parliament — to be illegitimate.”
For the first time in Israeli history, all 15 justices of the Supreme Court will hear Tuesday’s case.
The court will rule on the legality of a bill that weakens its ability to act as a check on the ruling coalition, headed by the prime minister. The bill bars the court from striking down parliamentary decisions on the basis that they aren’t “reasonable.”
The justices have used the standard in the past to nullify government decisions that they view as unsound or corrupt.
This year, for instance, the court struck down the appointment of a Cabinet minister, Aryeh Deri, because of prior convictions for accepting bribes and tax offenses.
The government says the reasonability standard is anti-democratic, because it allows judges to override the decisions of an elected parliamentary majority.
If the justices strike down the law, the stage may be set for a constitutional crisis. The parliamentary speaker, Amir Ohana, hinted this week that he wouldn’t accept the court’s ruling, saying he wouldn’t allow the Knesset to be “trampled.” Netanyahu hasn’t publicly committed to following the ruling of the court, but posted Ohana’s comments to social media on Thursday.
The hearing set for Tuesday is the first of three overhaul cases on the court’s docket this month.
(AP)
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One Response
[1] Israel’s Supreme Court has unlimited power, and is not accountable to anyone.
[2] In the USA, the Supreme Court can cancel a law IF it contradicts The Constitution.
In Israel, the Supreme Court can cancel ANY law, simply because they don’t like it.
Stated another way:
The USA’s Supreme Court can cancel a law,
IF there is a legal basis for them to do so.
Israel’s Supreme Court can cancel ANY law,
even if there is NO LEGAL BASIS for them to do so,
simply because they want to.
[3] Israel’s Supreme Court judges who were never elected
can overrule members of Knesset, who were all elected.
If judges who were never elected can overrule
members of Knesset, who were all elected,
then how is Israel a democracy?