Jerusalem: Israel's government and the Supreme Court exchanged sharp criticisms on Tuesday following the government's decision not to comply with a court ruling regarding the board of the Second Authority for Television and Radio. The Second Authority is responsible for regulating Israel's commercial television and radio broadcasters.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Supreme Court had previously frozen the government's appointments to a new board for the broadcasting regulator on June 17. The court ordered the existing board to remain in place until it could rule on petitions challenging the appointments. In a statement on Tuesday, the court criticized the government's disregard for its ruling and warned of the potential legal consequences of failing to adhere to judicial decisions.
The court emphasized that public officials and elected representatives are required to act according to the law and may face legal and civil liability if they fail to do so. It also referenced an earlier ruling, stating: "A state in which a governing authority applies the law according to its own wishes, respecting court orders at times and ignoring them at others, is a state in which the seeds of chaos and lawlessness are sown."
The government's announcement on Sunday declared that it would not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action by the Second Authority's board unless it met the minimum legal quorum required under Israeli law. This announcement came after the Supreme Court's decision to reinstate the board.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed support for "loyal public servants" against what he termed "mafia threats" from Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and other justices, in a post on US social media platform X. Ben-Gvir asserted, "In a democracy, public servants are subject to elected officials, in accordance with the law," and encouraged those who disagree with government policies to run for office themselves.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also criticized the court on X, describing its statement as a "threatening message" and accusing it of blackmail, which he argued warrants a police investigation. Smotrich emphasized that "no one is above the law," including Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and vowed to defeat the court's influence at the ballot box.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, joined the criticism of the court, stating, "The judges are trying to silence those who demand justice." Levin stressed that respect for the law and democratic decisions is obligatory for everyone, including the Supreme Court justices.
This latest dispute is anticipated to intensify the ongoing confrontation between Netanyahu's government and the judiciary. Since the current coalition assumed power in late 2022, the government and the courts have been embroiled in repeated clashes over judicial review of legislation passed by the Knesset and government decisions. In February, the Supreme Court issued a conditional order requiring Netanyahu to justify why Ben-Gvir should not be removed as national security minister, further escalating tensions between the executive and judicial branches. The order followed petitions from Israeli civil society organizations, and at that time, Levin warned that the dispute could trigger an unprecedented constitutional crisis.