Netanyahu: Anyone can question Supreme Court decisions

No institution in Israel is above criticism, and politicians as well as citizens have the right to voice their disagreement with the rulings of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Tuesday, weighing in on an ongoing public debate about the court’s right to strike down laws and cabinet decisions.

In late March, the court intervened in the government’s framework agreement that granted two conglomerates the right to extract Israel’s offshore natural gas reserves.

The judges ordered the deal be canceled within a year unless a controversial clause that bars future governments from altering it for a decade was either overturned or significantly amended.

Shortly after the ruling, Netanyahu issued a statement in which he claimed that “Israel is regarded as a state with excessive judicial intervention, which makes it difficult to do business.”

On Monday, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the Israeli Bar Association that the court had exceeded its authority with the ruling, turning itself “once again” into a place for clarifying “political and refined macroeconomic questions” whose resolution was the purview of elected members of Knesset.

Shaked stressed the importance of appointing judges who would maintain the strength and prestige of the court, “but not at the cost of weakening the Knesset and the government’s ability to act in matters of policy which do not harm human rights.”

Shaked drew sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers, who accused her of seeking to weaken the judiciary, thus disrupting the balance between the various branches of Israel’s government.

Speaking at the cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new national library in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Netanyahu said: “I respect the court and the judges because of my personal acquaintance with them and because of their position, and I respect their decisions.

“At the same time, everyone has a full right — and that includes me, as the person responsible for leading the state — to criticize decisions like these,” he said. “In a strong democracy like ours, there is no institution that is above criticism.”

Netanyahu added that the debate must always be substantive and conducted in a civilized manner, “from a position of mutual respect between all three powers [legislative, executive and judiciary].”

Last week, Supreme Court President Miriam Naor hit at politicians and ministers for attacking the court’s decision, saying: “Some of the things that were heard [with regard to the ruling], even by the officials in the executive and legislative branches, are unfitting for a Jewish and democratic state that respects the rule of law and the independence of the judicial system.”