This week, Netanyahu's coalition recorded its second strategic achievement in three months. After the enormous success in deterring Hamas and providing security to the country's residents on 7 October, came the establishment of the new legal-regime reform.
Now we have received a new regime from the High Court of Justice – the rule of the oligarchy of judges, courtesy of the geniuses of the coalition. Because the two rulings issued by the High Court of Justice this week are wrong and were obtained improperly, but they are the product of the moves of Netanyahu, Levin & Co. The actions of those who made every possible mistake outraged and caused fatal damage to the regime and the state, even to the justified ideas included in their reform. Thus, it was finally proven this week that we must now advance the day after – the day after Netanyahu.
This catastrophe, the second brought on by Netanyahu's coalition, is especially credited to the chief of staff of the move, Yariv Levin, alongside the head of the intelligence division, Simcha Rotman. Although credit also goes to the other perpetrators of the head-in-the-wall concept, from Bezalel Smotrich to the ultra-Orthodox activists. They have succeeded in unleashing dark demons from the bottle, and this week severely damaged the effort to repair relations between the authorities and strengthen Israeli democracy.
Minister Levin presents the reform of the judicial system // Photo: Yoni Rikner
The result in the High Court of Justice particularly illustrates the magnitude of their missed opportunity. Because if only they had followed the method of Ayelet Shaked, who succeeded in appointing four of the seven justices who opposed the reasonableness ruling in one term, they would have won the battle: the grounds of reasonableness would have been limited, and Israeli democracy would have won. It would have been enough to appoint one judge under the existing system to add to the so-called conservative camp, and the result would have been reversed.
It must be understood that the camps created by the High Court of Justice did not come into being by themselves – six of the seven justices who build the so-called conservative camp were appointed by agreement and without antagonism by Ayelet Shaked and Gideon Sa'ar. Today, when it is clear how critical the personal ideological perception of the justices in the High Court of Justice is, it is also possible to understand the magnitude of their achievement and the magnitude of the failure of Netanyahu and Levin.
It is also clear that nothing can be done today against the ruling. In contrast to the amok run of Esther Hayut and her friends, it is important to avoid a move that would endanger the unity of the nation during the war. The amendment is necessary, but it will wait for broad and deep agreement after the campaign. It is equally clear how incapable this government is of achieving anything positive, when the connection with Gantz and his people completely castrates it. The lack of public legitimacy and its current distorted composition mean that it is not really possible to decide on achieving a real victory, let alone build the day after correctly in Gaza, the West Bank and the north.
Netanyahu leaves the plenum, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The most important insight of all is that the time has come to move forward with the day after the coalition. It is important to redraw the political map in order to reflect the mood that has formed among the public in recent months and to establish a parliament with representatives of change. The time has come to announce an election process, which can take place in six months, but will renew voter confidence that no longer exists.
The absurdity is that while the ideas of the Likud and the Freedom Movement have been proven correct, the current ruling party is not implementing them. Not in the national-security sphere, not in the socioeconomic sphere, and certainly not in the legal sphere, in the relations between the authorities. The same applies to the ideas of religious Zionism, whose party bears its name and does not reflect most shades of the sector.
Bennett and Saar during the government of change, photo: Amit Shabi
Therefore, the missing central body that is supposed to fill this void is a national party, right-wing in its security-settlement views, but national and liberal. Among those slated for its establishment – Naftali Bennett, Gideon Saar and Ayelet Shaked – talks are already underway, which may this time promote a necessary joint run. Thus, the refugees of the current Likud, the one distorted by Netanyahu, will form the real Likud.
The new ideological and political map will apply the new insights about the Palestinian enemy, but will also correct the distortion that has worsened relations between the authorities, which became a formality this week. But she will do everything matter-of-fact and cleanly, properly for the day after.
Retirement with disgrace
One can argue about the content of the published judgments, but it is hard not to agree about the improper way in which they were obtained. It is particularly unfortunate that former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut led a procedural amok run that contradicts any proper process of legal inquiry, out of extraneous and improper purposes. That it is indisputable that the purpose of the run was to ensure the outcome of the proceedings in advance, on the basis of a preliminary determination of position, which is a reason for disqualifying any legal panel. Precisely in order to achieve this goal, a conditional order was issued even before the hearing of the petitions, and therefore only one hearing was held, unlike the customary practice in the High Court. Had this conduct been brought before the High Court, it would have been disqualified out of hand.
And let's not forget that all this took place in crucial matters concerning the relationships between the branches of government in a democracy – when the legal basis for the majority judges' decision is questionable, and the majority supporting the former president's position is on the cutting edge of the voice of a retired judge. And, of course, do not forget about the timing - in the midst of a war.
Outgoing President of the Supreme Court, Esther Hayut (archive), photo: Herzi Shapira
It is impossible to try to diminish the severity by arguing that the majority of justices agreed that the High Court of Justice may strike down a Basic Law in extreme circumstances. This is an obvious determination that is accepted by most of the public. Imagine, for example, that tomorrow a Basic Law will be passed, abolishing the Law of Return and the essence of the State of Israel as a Jewish-Zionist state. It is clear that the High Court will have to disqualify him. The same goes for a Basic Law to uproot all Jews from Judea and Samaria, or to kill all Israeli Arabs. These are far-reaching situations, in fact theoretical, that clearly require the judges to retain their right in principle to run. But this does not diminish the severity of the ruling of the (former) majority justices.
We must also internalize that the ruling on the issue of reasonableness, along with the intolerable ease of disqualifying a Basic Law on the basis of a voice, establishes a new concept of Israeli democracy: from now on, we are formally headed by a legal oligarchy whose power is far greater than that of the other branches – both legislative and executive. 15 wondrous people who were not elected by the public are our new rulers. This is a governing model in which only one body is of dramatic importance – the Judicial Selection Committee. Because the Supreme Court justices are the rulers, but whoever appoints the rulers wins the jackpot. This is a complete distortion of the concept of democratic government, which is not clear even if it was acceptable to the Greek philosopher Plato, a proponent of the rule of philosophers. In any case, this is not democracy.
This distortion will have to be corrected, but the correction will also wait for the day after the war. When it will be possible to act for change moderately, wisely, without tearing us apart from within and without playing into the hands of the enemy.
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