The Supreme Court of Israel opened hearings on a case regarding a highly controversial law that effectively overhauled the Israeli judicial system passed by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political camp. The case could reverse what was essentially a new amendment made on July 24, and had zero support among opposing parties.
The law removes the Supreme Court’s ability to overturn government decisions on grounds of reasonability, which according to critics will effectively shrink the powers of the country’s highest court and render more power to lawmakers.
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When the law was passed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in late July, it sparked civil unrest and mass protests among the Israeli citizenry. Members of the military refused to show up to their posts. According to the Wall Street Journal, protests have been ongoing for 36 weeks, starting far before the law was passed.
Netanyahu’s right-wing faction holds that the Supreme Court has become activistic, legislating from the bench without consent from the will of the people as represented by elected officials in parliament. Netanyahu detractors, meanwhile, describe him as a dictator in the making, a once-ousted leader now seeking revenge by weakening the court so his party of “ultranationalists” can push religion into more sectors of public life, intensify the occupation of the West Bank, and assume greater state power over political opponents.
“This is probably the most important case our court has ever heard,” said Yaniv Roznai, a professor of constitutional law at Reichman University in Israel according to the Wall Street Journal. “For the first time in our history, the court might strike down a law that is equivalent to a constitutional amendment as unconstitutional.”
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