Justice minister, coalition officials blast High Court for nixing ‘reasonabless law,’ but say war effort comes first

Reactions are flowing in to the High Court’s landmark ruling.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the judicial overhaul, accuses the justices of “taking into their hands, with the ruling, all the authorities that in a democracy are divided between the three branches of government.” This creates a situation, Levin argues, “in which it is impossible to legislate even a Basic Law or take any decision in the Knesset or the government without the agreement of the Supreme Court, depriving millions of citizens of their voice.”

He calls the ruling unprecedented in the democratic world and says it “won’t stay our hand.”

Levin says the court demonstrated “the opposite of the spirit of unity required these days for the success of our soldiers on the front.”

But he adds that the government “will continue to act with restraint and responsibility” so long as the IDF military campaign against Hamas in Gaza is in progress.

Likud’s Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar says, “It would have been better had this ruling come out after these difficult days, if only to prevent the return of divisive discourse.” He says, “We must at this time bite our lips, show responsibility, and maintain unity. That is our responsibility to the fallen [in the war].”

Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer says the timing of the ruling is “unfortunate, outrageous, and mainly shows a disconnect. But please keep things in proportion. We are still at the height of a difficult war and the challenge in the north is still ahead. Discourse must focus only on our united fight.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says: “While all of us set aside our differences for now to unite and lead Israel to complete victory over our enemies, the High Court justices are insisting on proving to us again how disconnected and unrepresentative they are of the people.”

He accuses the judges of issuing “a highly divisive ruling while many soldiers who are endangering their lives in a war for our homeland oppose the dangerous regime change it heralds.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party says it is “unfortunate that the Supreme Court decided to issue a ruling at the heart of the societal disagreement in Israel when IDF soldiers from right and left are fighting and endangering their lives.”

“The court’s decision contradicts the people’s desire for unity, particularly at a time of war.”

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana says “It is obvious that the Supreme Court does not have any authority to annul Basic Laws.” But “it is even more obvious that we cannot deal with this so long as we are in the midst of a war.”