'Israel' on its way to a 'constitutional crisis': Haaretz
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Israeli media outlets indicate that "Israel" is on its way to a "constitutional crisis" due to the regime's repeated refusal to comply with the decisions of the Supreme Court and the general attorney.
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Activists carry messages for US President Joe Biden as relatives of captives held by the Hamas Resistance movement in the Gaza Strip protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, Saturday, August 24, 2024 (AP)
The Israeli news outlet Haaretz published an opinion piece on Monday, warning that "Israel" is on its way to a "constitutional crisis" due to the regime's repeated refusal to comply with Supreme Court decisions and the legal opinions of the attorney general.
Writer Chen Menit writes that the regime's disregard for certain Supreme Court orders "is nothing new" but experts suggest that the situation "has worsened in recent years."
The piece also noted that there is a continued refusal to accept the opinions of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara regarding the interpretation of the law, with the hostility of some ministers towards her reaching "unprecedented levels."
According to Haaretz, last year, "when the government began promoting judicial overhaul laws, many feared that Israel would face a constitutional crisis – a situation in which the Supreme Court would strike down laws, but the government would not respect its rulings."
Read more: Israeli Supreme Court starts hearings on judicial overhaul
Rewind
The judicial overhaul began in early 2023 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition introduced a series of legislative reforms aimed at reducing the powers of the judiciary, particularly the Israeli Supreme Court. The proposed changes include limiting the Supreme Court's authority to use the "reasonableness" standard to overturn the regime's decisions.
This standard had been employed by the court to invalidate actions it found to be excessively unreasonable or unjust, such as the appointment of officials with criminal records.
Proponents of the reforms argued that the judiciary had overstepped its boundaries and interfered with the regime's ability to implement policies effectively. They claimed that the changes were necessary to restore the balance of power among "Israel's" branches of government, arguing that the judiciary had become too powerful and unaccountable.
However, the proposed overhaul sparked widespread opposition and protests among Israelis.
Read more: Judicial overhaul sparks emigration fears among Israelis: Reports
Many critics, including legal experts, former military officials, and activists, argued that these reforms would undermine the independence of the judiciary and weaken the system of checks and balances that is fundamental to a democratic state.
They feared that the changes could lead "Israel" toward authoritarianism by reducing judicial oversight over the regime's actions.
Though the judicial overhaul has not been fully implemented, the war on Gaza has served to show a troubling alignment of the Israeli population with the extremist policies of their government, as there has been a notable lack of widespread opposition to the regime's genocidal actions against the people of Gaza.
It is important to recall 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 a belief in ethnonational superiority and the use of state power to achieve political and territorial goals.
