More than 70 members of Knesset want to form a government under conditions they have agreed upon – but they can't fulfill their duties as elected officials because they must wait for the 11-headed monster to have its word.
Almost everyone you speak to about the High Court's review on Sunday, which is an unprecedented, gross violation of democratic principles and Israel's own Basic Laws, is calling it "madness" on the part of "mad" people.
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Their attempts in recent years, and particularly the past two years, tells us Supreme Court justices are tone-deaf. There is no way for a citizen who went to the voting station on March 2 to predict what the High Court will decide. Arbitrariness is the cousin of tyranny.
With that, here are a few fundamental insights: Benjamin Netanyahu is now heading a properly-functioning government amid a historically difficult crisis. Neither he nor his government is in the crosshairs of a public eager for their removal. Just the opposite, many people appreciate Netanyahu's outstanding conduct.
An article that recently appeared in Haaretz said the government has "preformed reasonably." Let's go back to 1973, or 1982. If those governments had preformed "reasonably," we could have celebrated Israel's 72nd Independence Day with at least 2,000 people who are no longer with us. The public breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Benny Gantz and his party mates decided to throw their shoulders under the proverbial national stretcher and help form a broad, Netanyahu-led unity government.
The High Court's previous meddling in parliamentary affairs ended in black eyes for the men and women in black gowns. They were caught red-handed in what appeared to be a conspiracy concocted with several political parties and attorneys, all looking for the slightest window of opportunity to get rid of former Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. The script they had in mind, however, was turned upside down, even though Edelstein ultimately stepped down.
If the word "logic" carries any meaning at all in the halls of the Supreme Court, the black gowns would have balked at cooperating yet again with petitioners who have nothing to do with the matter of forming a government. Alas, there's reason to suspect they are all acting together in trying to weaken the Knesset and stop it from fulfilling its very purpose, which is to form a government.
Since the last election, chiefly due to the coronavirus pandemic, the public opinion in Israel has completely changed: According to a poll last week, nearly 63% either support or are satisfied with the government's decisions pertaining to the coronavirus. There's a claim that Gantz changed course because Blue and White's two camps, Yair Lapid's and his, had been weakened. That is of course nonsense.
Internal divisions, and the fact that at the height of the corona pandemic the party's leaders did nothing on behalf of the national effort other than joining Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, is the reason for its precipitous loss of clout. The disappointment in Blue and White has strengthened the Right, while Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman, and Meretz remains stagnant.
The right-wing bloc now stands at 65 Knesset seats. From Netanyahu's perspective, the notion of Chief Justice Esther Hayut and her 10 colleagues disqualifying him as prime minister and canceling the unity deal – which would take us to a fourth election with better odds for a solid right-wing majority – is almost enticing. In such a scenario, laws will be approved to allow Netanyahu to remain prime minister and legislation will be passed to muzzle the Supreme Court's desire for governmental control.
A decision to disqualify Netanyahu and the unity government will trigger a legislative chain-reaction that will also harm the most vital national interests – and the Supreme Court as an institution will be the main casualty.
