Concern about national crisis
Israel’s Supreme Court deals with its own disempowerment
7/31/2023 11:27 p.m
The state crisis in Israel could escalate on this date: On September 12, the Supreme Court wants to hear about the controversial reform with which the government wants to take away the power of the court to decide on such laws. A power struggle with an uncertain outcome is looming.
In Israel, according to media reports, all 15 judges of the Supreme Court want to meet for the first time on September 12 to deal with petitions against a law as part of the controversial judicial reform. A week ago, the right-wing religious government passed a core element of the reform that removes the possibility for the Supreme Court to take action against “inappropriate” government decisions. The court is reportedly meeting under the presidency of President Esther Chajut in his capacity as the highest appellate body.
The State of Israel has no constitution and is based on a collection of basic laws. The abolition of the so-called appropriateness standard, which was decided in parliament, is an amendment to one of these basic laws. Never in Israel’s history has a comparable law been overturned by the Supreme Court. If this happens now and the government does not accept the decision, the country is threatened with a national crisis.
The right-wing conservative governing Likud party said on Monday: “The Israeli governments have always respected the law and the judgments of the court, and the court has always respected the constitution.” Any deviation from these principles would “seriously damage Israeli democracy, which needs calm, dialogue and responsibility these days.”
The protest movement against the restructuring of the judiciary criticized this message as a “mafia-like threat by the accused against the court”. She was referring to the ongoing corruption trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The chief justices know that millions of Israelis will stand guard so they can fulfill their role as guardians of democracy,” the statement said.
Critics classify the government’s actions as a threat to Israel’s democracy. Netanyahu’s government, on the other hand, argues that the court is too powerful in Israel and interferes too much in political issues.