Top Israeli court weighs in on Netanyahu's judicial overhaul

The first of several appeals relating to a judicial makeover carried out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition, which has sparked an unprecedented political crisis, was heard by Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday.

A quasi-constitutional “basic law” was amended in March to restrict the circumstances under which a prime minister could be declared incompetent and removed from office.

The appellants, who are supported by the attorney general, want the bill to be overturned because they claim that parliament abused its authority by modifying it to Netanyahu’s personal benefit. Its supporters assert that it protects any democratically elected leader from unjustified removal.

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 Jerusalem hill where protesters gathered as the hearing began.

“It’s not a secret that our prime minister decided to wage a war on the Supreme Court and on the nature of Israel as a democracy, and we are taking the streets in order to stop it,” said former foreign minister Tzipi Livni.

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.

“We want a true and real democracy,” said lawyer Iska Bina, who supports the overhaul. “Our vote doesn’t matter anymore, because 15 judges decide for us.”

On September 12, the whole 15-justice bench will meet for the first time in Israel to hear an appeal against a different basic law modification, this one limiting the Supreme Court’s authority.

The Supreme Court is viewed by opponents of the government’s judicial reform as the final check on an administration that works hand in glove with the legislature in a nation without a written constitution and just “basic laws” that are easily amendable.

Concerns about the viability of Israel’s democracy have increased both domestically and internationally as a result of Netanyahu’s prosecution in three allegations of corruption. He disputes any wrongdoing on his part and any connection between his trial and the justice reforms he advocates.

(With agency inputs)