Netanyahu’s judicial reform threatens Israeli democracy
With Justice Minister Yariv levin promoting a reform to erode the courts’ responsibility, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promoting a law for convicted Aryeh Deri to serve as minister, Israel’s democracy is facing an existential danger.
An expanded panel of 11 Supreme Court justices convened on Thursday to hear petitions against the appointment of ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri as a top minister in the Netanyahu government. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had opposed the appointment, arguing that it “exceeds in the extreme the boundaries of reasonableness” due to Deri’s two criminal convictions, the second one just a year ago.
The Supreme Court session took place less than 24 hours after newly appointed Justice Minister Yariv Levin presented an overhaul of Israel’s legal system.
