‘Unlawful orders are void’: Karhi calls to ignore High Court on how to fire AG

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calls on the government to ignore the High Court of Justice’s position on the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, averring that “unlawful orders are void.”

Karhi, a radical Likud minister, is referring to the High Court’s unanimous decision earlier today rejecting the government’s proposal for it to consult the advisory committee for hiring and firing the attorney general, in order to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, if the court allows it to convene without a key member.

“There is not a single one among the disconnected [judges] in the ivory tower who thinks that the government should be allowed to work and the mandate we received from the people to be realized,” says Karhi in reference to nine judges who are signatory to the decision, three of whom are staunch, hardline conservatives who have frequently ruled in favor of government positions.

“It is time to stop this farce dance. Say to the High Court of Justice, simply no! The dismissal of the attorney general was carried out legally by a unanimous government decision. End of story,” insists Karhi.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the petitioners against the government’s decision to fire Baharav-Miara, says, however, that the ruling demonstrates a willingness of the judges to “halt the government’s attempts for a regime coup.”

The organization accuses the government of trying to revive its judicial overhaul agenda “via the backdoor,” and to change the institution of the Attorney General’s Office from a professional outfit into a “corrupt, politicized institution.”

Adds the watchdog group: “All lovers of democracy in Israel stand by her [the attorney general]. We will continue to stand guard to physically thwart any attempt to harm Israeli democracy.”