Netanyahu’s government is challenging the court, raising fears of a constitutional crisis as elections approach

Amna Nawaz:

The Israeli parliament was dissolved, paving the way for October elections. The country’s longest-serving leader is preparing for one of his toughest re-election battles ever.

Benjamin Netanyahu faces questions about his leadership during and after the October 7 Hamas attacks. This includes questions about a new constitutional crisis that pits his government against the judiciary.

Producer Karl Bostic reports in Tel Aviv with Nick Schifrin.

Nick Shiffrin:

In Israel, opposition is boiling. Hundreds of protesters fill Habima Square in Tel Aviv to express their disdain for a leader they say is corrupting Israeli democracy and misleading his people.

Rotem Bavli Dvir, Quality Government Movement in Israel: No government is above the law. We are all equal before the law, and we must all do what the court says, even if we don’t agree with it.

Nick Shiffrin:

Earlier this month, for the first time in Israel’s history, Netanyahu’s Likud party said the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision could be ignored. The case was related to the sale of a news channel to Netanyahu critics.

But retired Supreme Court Justice Ayala Procaccia says the case is actually about democracy, even though retired judges do not typically engage in public criticism.

Ayala Procaccia, former Israeli Supreme Court justice (through translator):

A state in which the ruling authority takes the law into its own hands is a state in which the seeds of chaos and anarchy are sown.

You can’t talk about original morality when the situation is burning and falling apart.

Nick Shiffrin:

Procaccia has been a judge on the Israeli Supreme Court for more than a decade. She is concerned that Israel is on a slippery slope of democratic backsliding.

Ayala Procaccia:

The sum of the anti-democratic activities that began three years ago, and have escalated further, has reached the peak of the collapse of our democracy. It is an attack against the Supreme Court, in effect weakening the government’s gatekeepers.

Nick Shiffrin:

Since 2023, Netanyahu has attempted to reform Israel’s judiciary, passing legislation to allow the ruling coalition to have greater influence in selecting judges, including the Supreme Court, and trying, but failing to ban, a doctrine that allowed Israel’s Supreme Court to invalidate government decisions deemed too unreasonable.

Eliad Shraga, head of the Good Government Movement in Israel: This is why we are facing such a constitutional crisis.

Nick Shiffrin:

Eliad Shraga is the founder of the Government Quality Movement, a civilian watchdog organization that advocates for government transparency, and is himself a Likud official.

Eliad Shraga:

Mr. Netanyahu to escape justice has amended at least 50 times the basic laws of Israel, just to adapt the system to his needs, his political and legal needs, just to stay in power and just to escape justice.

Nick Shiffrin:

In three months, Netanyahu faces an election that his aides admit he may lose.

Eliad Shraga:

He wants to control all the media in Israel, so they can control the people, especially before the elections. He will lose, and he will not get the election results, and we can face what you are facing in America on January 6th.

Nick Shiffrin:

But critics of the court and advocates of judicial reform have long described it as spiraling out of control.

Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States: If you go back 25 or 30 years, you will find that the Supreme Court exercises its right of judicial review to overturn a law once every two or three years. Then suddenly you get it twice a year, then three times a year, and then constantly.

At the end of the day, people in Parliament say, who elected you?

Nick Shiffrin:

Michael Oren served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States under Netanyahu from 2009 to 2013.

Michael Oren:

There should be greater input from Israeli public opinion in the decision of judges, who become judges, and who choose judges, as is the case in the United States. You have that ability to influence the makeup of the Supreme Court. We don’t have that.

Nick Shiffrin:

But the reason Netanyahu faces such a political challenge today is that even some of his historic supporters have had enough.

Michael Oren:

He is a person who has lost the trust of a huge number of Israelis. He did not bear responsibility for October 7, which is a big issue here. He poisoned his relationship with everyone he worked with in the past, not with me, but just with everyone else. It’s time for change.

Nick Shiffrin:

This feeling fuels opposition to Netanyahu.

Gadi Eisenkot, a retired Israeli army commander, is competing against Netanyahu and leading in the opinion polls.

Gadi Eisenkot, Candidate for Israeli Prime Minister, Member (through translator):

When the Minister of Justice of the State of Israel calls for non-compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court, he is actually hinting at something else. It goes beyond a desire to weaken the Israeli judicial system. The desire here is destruction.

Nick Shiffrin:

Like many here, Eisenkot criticizes Netanyahu for the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, none of which have ended or can be considered a victory.

Gadi Eisenkot (through translator):

There are military achievements. There are great challenges, but no solution has been found in any arena.

Nick Shiffrin:

Eisenkot’s supporters echoed this concern.

Yair Avraham, campaign manager (through translator):

I believe that Israeli society is now ready for change. Mr. Netanyahu will serve the country for 30 years. I think that’s enough, especially after October 7th.

Nick Shiffrin:

Therefore, Israelis and the world are looking forward to seeing whether the upcoming elections will lead to a new era in Israeli politics or a continuation of Netanyahu’s rule.

On the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Nick Schifrin.