Lately, one cannot help but feel that something of consequence is happening in Israel.
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Any day now, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision regarding the appointment of the leader of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas faction, Aryeh Deri, to the role of interior minister despite a previous tax fraud conviction.
Whichever way the ruling goes, the consequences will be earth-shattering.
If the court decides in Deri's favor, the new government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu will lose the trust of the public, or at least those who see the judiciary as the last gatekeeper against the tyranny of the parliamentary majority.
If it rules against Deri, the courts will draw the ire of the coalition, Justice Minister Yair Levin, in particular.
A mere day before the High Court began to hear petitions against Deri's appointment, he introduced his plan aimed at curtailing the power of the judiciary. Levin has waited for years for this moment and now wants to see the legal system surrender.
Such confrontation of the judiciary is a dangerous game. I am not suggesting that there is no legitimacy in reviewing the legal system after 75 years of independence – there is – but Levin seems to have set out on a personal crusade. Had he been open to examining alternatives – rather than rampaging – he could have gone down in history as the enlightened reformer of the judiciary.
And as long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refrains from speaking out against the measures – or expressing any opinion at all – the reform threatens to break the main pillar that unites us – solidarity.
Just last night (Saturday), thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv against the policies of the new government. Levin must understand that they are not the enemy. They simply want to live in a country that feels like home.
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