A Constitutional Crisis Won’t Happen
Ma’ariv, Israel, July 30
As someone who has traversed the halls of the Supreme Court for decades, I watch the behavior of the judges at this time—perhaps not all of them—and a feeling of helplessness wraps around me; sometimes it also causes me terrible nausea. They increasingly take upon themselves authorities that are not theirs in order to make the government systems their own, through the use of “creative” expressions that they import from fictional worlds. Chief Justice Esther Hayut, in contrast to her predecessors in the role, even does this, in my opinion, crudely and in a panic in order to manage to stick, to the best of my understanding, nails without heads into the legal system before her tenure expires. Her hurried return from abroad worries me especially. She attests to this, in my opinion, in her request to take the reins and steer, as she sees fit, the discussions on the political petitions, which seek to drag the court she heads into the center of the controversy in which she, Esther Hayut, has apparently already chosen a side. She apparently wants to determine the elements that will be discussed in the appeals and to ensure a nearby date for the discussions. Even the numbers of judges who will hear each appeal will be decided by her. Hayut apparently also wants to control any interim orders issued, if they are issued, at the request of the petitioners. This is just like the way former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak behaved when thousands of families were expelled from their homes in Gush Katif [in the Gaza Strip] and northern Samaria [West Bank]. He turned himself into the judge on duty in order to control the discussions on arrests of demonstrators. He did not leave anything to chance. Hayut is completely following in his path. These are dark times for the Jewish state. The judicial system has, in my estimation, become a political actor. Senior figures, present and past, are enlisting in the fight against the changes needed to restore balance among the three government branches. The former attorney general of Israel, Avichai Mandelblit—who, in my view, is directly responsible for the U-turn that is occurring in the District Court in Jerusalem—cries out every so often against the “dictatorship” that is supposedly about to descend upon us. There is not a smidgen of truth to his claims. Could he be concerned about the upcoming findings of the government commission of inquiry, headed by Judge Moshe Drori? Does he carry any responsibility for the unlawful planting of spyware against numerous citizens, particularly those perceived to be able to produce incriminating material against Benjamin Netanyahu? At the head of the camp seeking to maintain control over the Supreme Court is current Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara. She perhaps knows that her appointment was born in sin; that whoever stood behind this strange appointment apparently wanted it only for political reasons. Her qualifications were, at the least, open to dispute. Responsible for this was the former Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, head of the nominations committee. Then-Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar knew exactly why he wanted her. He apparently wanted an attorney general who would not interfere with the government doing as it pleased. There are those who speak of conflict or of a constitutional crisis. That will not happen. The law is clear. The army and the other security bodies are subject to the government’s authority. There can be no ambivalence on this matter. Even Esther Hayut will not be able to change that. —Haim Misgav (translated by The Media Line Staff)
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