Opposition warns coalition not to try renewing judicial ‘coup’ under cover of war
Foreign Minister Sa’ar defends government actions, asserts that concerns over threats by senior minister to change the regime, abolish High Court are overblown by the media
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 politicians warned the government Monday against trying to revive the largely shelved controversial judicial overhaul, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition stepped up attacks on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the Supreme Court in recent days.
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz vowed that “we will not allow a coup to be carried out under the cover of war.”
“Arrogance, intoxication with power, contempt, and smugness have returned. The coup d’état is on the table,” Gantz told reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
The government views Israel’s security establishment as “part of the Deep State,” the attorney general as “a problem for the State of Israel,” and the media as “too free,” he contended — referring to reports that Netanyahu may be looking to fire the attorney general, IDF chief of staff and Shin Bet chief.
Gantz’s warning also came after Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi asserted during a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday that the government has the right to carry out “regime change” in Israel and to do away with long-established norms and procedures. “We are elected by the public; we can change the regime if we want to,” he asserted.
The Likud lawmaker’s outburst, made public in a recording leaked to Hebrew media, came as the committee discussed the government’s decision to sever ties with the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, after publisher Amos Schocken recently referred to Palestinian terrorists as “freedom fighters.”
Karhi’s comments also came amid government efforts to privatize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation within two years, effectively closing down the Kan public broadcaster and limiting what many in the coalition view as its excessive criticism of the government.
The communications minister caused an additional furor on Sunday when, in an interview with ultra-Orthodox radio station Kol Berama, he said that he was of the opinion that the High Court of Justice “should be abolished.”
Karhi said it should be replaced by a new judicial court “whose powers would be defined by the Knesset,” and which would not “gnaw away at the foundations of democracy.”
The government has recently started reintroducing elements of its bitterly opposed judicial overhaul program. The legislative gambit, sidelined since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the ongoing war, brought hundreds of thousands to the streets weekly before the war to protest what they view as the undermining of Israel’s democracy.
The government argues that the judiciary is overly interventionist, unrepresentative, and thwarts the will of the majority.
Gantz warned against trying to revive the overhaul.
“It ended very badly last time. It will end very badly this time too,” Gantz stated, calling on Netanyahu to take responsibility and halt the government’s plans before they “end in disaster.”
“Don’t say you weren’t warned. The return of the inflammatory discourse [and] the restoration of the coup d’état are a clear and immediate danger even today,” he continued.
Yair Golan, head of The Democrats — the amalgamation of the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties — also hit out government attempts to undermine judicial authorities, saying the coalition “is like a malignant disease.”
Speaking with reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Golan argued that “every day that passes, this government destroys another vital organ in the body of democratic Israel.”
Karhi “is responsible for the elimination of the free media,” Justice Minister Yariv Levin “is responsible for the elimination of democracy,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir “is responsible for the destruction of the police and law enforcement agencies,” and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “is responsible for the destruction of the Israeli economy,” said Golan.
One day, Netanyahu “will be a prisoner in orange [uniform] who spends his days in jail contemplating the security, economic and social damage he inflicted on the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” he claimed — adding that Israel’s “gatekeepers” should not be deterred and that they are needed now more than ever.
Golan called on law enforcement, including Baharav-Miara, to stand their ground.
“The public expects and demands that you act with full force to protect our democracy, to stop the criminals and the deadly damage to the state’s institutions,” Golan asserted.
“We must stop these people who are responsible for the destruction of the state. This is our moral duty,” Golan said, urging the opposition to “act together to overthrow this criminal government.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who recently joined the coalition, dismissed concerns that the government is seeking to revive the judicial overhaul.
Referring to Karhi’s comments, Sa’ar said that “if someone says that I am allowed to change the system of government, it doesn’t mean that the system of government is changing. ”
Speaking during his New Hope party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Sa’ar blamed the media, saying they were “maintaining this discourse while Israel is waging a critical international campaign on its right to self-defense.”
The press has inflated Karhi’s comments “into a major event,” Sa’ar argued, further dismissing concerns over the bill mandating the privatization of the public broadcaster.
“It’s not about closing, it’s about privatization,” he said.
Asked if bills being advanced by the coalition were not similar to those of the judicial overhaul, Sa’ar responded that “not every bill that comes up in the Knesset is a revolution” and that “everything needs to be examined on its own merits.”
“Regarding everything related to the fundamental issues of the system of government, I have good relations with the justice minister and we are talking about these things,” he added, stating that if and when the judicial overhaul is again put on the agenda, he hopes that “it will be with broad agreement.”
Prior to rejoining the coalition in September, Sa’ar was a harsh critic of the government’s handling of the war and other security and political issues, and accused it of “politicizing” the role of ombudsman for judges by backing a law under which lawmakers would vote on candidates for the position.
Recognizing his opposition to much of the overhaul, Sa’ar’s coalition agreement with Likud gives him discretion to vote differently from the coalition on bills concerning changes to the judicial system.
