From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Lapid: ‘Anarchist’ government planned ‘violent riot’ at High Court
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to condemn Tuesday’s “violent riot” at the High Court of Justice, claiming that the lack of censure was due to the fact that “they planned it.”
“A day has passed, and not a single member of the government or the coalition said a word about the violent riot at the Supreme Court, about the curses, about the threats, about the attempt to sabotage the rule of law, about the utter disrespect. There was not a single condemnation, not a single criticism, not even a word,” tweets Lapid.
“Why? Because they planned it. Because they are the anarchists. Because this government wants to dismantle the country.”
Protesters repeatedly and loudly disrupted a High Court hearing on the termination of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Tuesday. The court was forced to halt the proceedings following a lengthy speech by a father, Itzik Bontzel, whose son died during the current war with Hamas.
Bontzel denounced the court for hearing the petitions, saying that Bar’s hands “are dripping in blood” and that since he took responsibility for the failure to foresee the October 7 attacks, there is no reason to even discuss the petitions asking the court to reverse his dismissal.
Among those involved in the disturbance was Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who argued that she could not be removed because she has parliamentary immunity. She was ejected from the courtroom when she immediately interrupted the proceedings upon their resumption following an hour-long recess due to the protests.
The Times of Israel Community.