Haaretz: “Israel” on the way to a “constitutional crisis”

The Israeli news portal Haaretz published a commentary on Monday warning that “Israel” was heading for a “constitutional crisis” as the regime repeatedly refused to comply with the Supreme Court’s rulings and the Attorney General’s legal opinions.

Writer Chen Menit writes that the regime’s disregard for certain Supreme Court orders is “nothing new,” but experts say the situation has “worsened in recent years.”

The article also noted that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s views on the interpretation of the law continue to be rejected and that hostility towards her from some ministers has reached “unprecedented levels”.

Accordingly HaaretzLast year, “when the government began pushing judicial reform legislation, many feared that Israel would face a constitutional crisis – a situation in which the Supreme Court would overturn laws but the government would not respect its rulings.”

Read more: Israel’s Supreme Court begins hearings on judicial reform

Rewind

Judicial reform began in early 2023, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition introduced a series of legal reforms aimed at curtailing the power of the judiciary, particularly Israel’s Supreme Court. Among the proposed changes was limiting the Supreme Court’s authority to apply the “reasonableness standard” to overturn regime decisions.

This standard was used by the Court to invalidate actions it considered excessively unreasonable or unfair, such as the appointment of officials with criminal records.

Supporters of the reforms argued that the judiciary had exceeded its authority and was undermining the regime’s ability to effectively implement its policies. They claimed the changes were necessary to restore the balance of power between Israel’s branches of government and argued that the judiciary had become too powerful and unaccountable.

However, the planned reform sparked great resistance and protests among Israelis.

Read more: Judicial reform fuels fears of emigration among Israelis: reports

Many critics, including legal experts, former military officers and activists, argued that these reforms would undermine the independence of the judiciary and weaken the system of checks and balances fundamental to a democratic state.

They feared that the changes could lead “Israel” toward an authoritarian regime because they would limit legal control over the regime’s actions.

Although judicial reform has not yet been fully implemented, the war on Gaza has revealed a worrying level of support among the Israeli population for its government’s extremist policies, and a conspicuous lack of widespread opposition to the regime’s genocide against the people of Gaza.

It is important to remember that Zionism is inherently a fascist ideology. Therefore, the policies and actions of the Israeli regime, including those in Gaza, should be understood as extensions of this ideology, driven by belief in ethno-national superiority and the use of state power to achieve political and territorial goals.