Threats to Supreme Court test Israel’s democracy
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court, widely seen as a guardian of the country’s founding democratic principles, is facing fierce pressure from political hard-liners who are challenging what they see as the court’s overreach and liberal slant.
The stepped-up rhetoric and attempts to shackle the court are testing Israel’s fragile democracy at a time when members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist government have led an onslaught of attacks against the country’s liberal institutions, stirring up populist sentiment and deepening a rift with the country’s moderates.
The court’s critics want it to tone down what they see as its overt activism and demand a rethink of the institution’s role in society. But some observers see the campaign against the court as crossing a line.
“The attacks, the incitement is very worrying,” said Dalia Dorner, a former Supreme Court judge. “Without an independent court there is no democracy.”