Levin: Voiding recusal law or delaying its application would erase Israel’s democracy

Justice Minister Yariv Levin argues in a statement that today’s High Court hearing on petitions against the government’s recusal law “is de facto a discussion of whether to cancel the election results.”

The law shields prime ministers from being forced by the court or by the attorney general to step down, and is widely seen as designed to shield Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from facing such a sanction for violating a conflict of interest agreement he signed in 2020 to allow him to serve as premier while on trial for corruption charges. Under that deal, Netanyahu committed not to involve himself in judicial matters that could affect his ongoing trial.

In his statement, Levin also dismisses a proposal made by the court to delay the implementation date of the law to the next Knesset to avoid the apparent personal nature of the law.

“The meaning of delaying the implementation of the recusal law is that an unelected official… would be able to hand themselves powers that they were never given, and discuss the delusional option of ordering a prime minister to recuse himself, in total contrast with the election results,” Levin says.

“The result of this would be that Israel will no longer be a democracy, instead being ruled by people who placed themselves above the people, above the voters’ choice in the ballot box.”