Israel’s Supreme Court is hearing the first in a series of appeals against a judicial overhaul being unfurled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious-nationalist coalition, which has set off an unprecedented domestic crisis.
A March amendment to a quasi-constitutional “basic law” limited conditions under which a prime minister can be deemed unfit, or incapacitated, and removed from office.
The appellants – backed by Netanyahu’s own attorney-general – want that voided.
The case being heard by three justices pits the Supreme Court against the Knesset, or parliament, situated shouting distance away across a rose garden on a gentle Jerusalem hill.
“Clash Among Branches of Government – The First Test”, read the main headline of the mass-circulation daily Israel Hayom.
Supporters of Netanyahu, who bounded back to a record sixth term in late December, cast Thursday’s appeal – and others slated for next month – as a reminder of what they deem meddling by unelected judges in the democratic mandate of the coalition.
Critics see the Supreme Court as the last check on an executive working in lock-step with the legislature in a country that has no formal constitution.
That Netanyahu is on trial in three graft cases has further fuelled worries at home and abroad for Israel’s democratic health.
Read the article by Maayan Lubell in The Canberra Times.