“You will destroy democracy,” Knesset member Shelly Yachimovich of the Zionist Camp shouted at Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of HaBayit HaYehudi on Sept. 17 during a special recess debate called by the opposition. The title the opposition chose for the debate was “The justice minister’s attack on the High Court and the danger to democracy,” but it soon became clear that much more was involved than an assault on the High Court.
Standing behind the podium at the plenum, with shouts and interjections from center-left Knesset members in the background, Shaked again and again tried to deliver the message that all her work is practical, respectful and never personal — in contrast with her critics on the left.