Under Graft Cloud, Netanyahu Seeks to Limit High Court's Power
Under Graft Cloud, Netanyahu Seeks to Limit High Court's Power
(Bloomberg) -- With a new mandate from April elections and facing potential indictment on bribery and fraud charges, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is exploring ways to shield himself from prosecution until he leaves politics, according to four senior figures close to the discussions.
The attorney general said in February he plans to indict Netanyahu in three corruption probes, pending a hearing for the prime minister to plead his case and try to avoid charges. Netanyahu, who denies wrongdoing, needn’t step down unless he’s convicted and has exhausted all appeals.
To put off his day of reckoning, the likeliest plan is a two-pronged approach to give Netanyahu immunity as long as he’s in office and limit the Supreme Court’s ability to revoke it, the senior figures said. In the meantime, the people said, Netanyahu could try to postpone his hearing as long as possible.
Critics describe the strategy as a threat to Israel’s democracy.
“Netanyahu wants only one thing -- to buy time,” said Yair Lapid, a leader of the Blue & White bloc that lost to Netanyahu’s Likud in last month’s vote. “He needs time to form his ‘get out of jail’ government so it can pass an immunity law.”
All-Powerful
The prime minister’s office referred queries to a Likud spokesman, who didn’t respond to a request for comment. Netanyahu says his intentions have been mischaracterized.
While his policy has been to preserve a strong and independent court system, “that doesn’t mean the court is all-powerful,” he said last week.
Netanyahu has said the immunity plan won’t formally be part of the agreement for a coalition government, which he must form by May 28, but the four people said this would likely be the government’s strategy once in office. Likud members are preparing the ground to present the plan, with legislator Miki Zohar saying Thursday that voters who just returned Netanyahu to office deserve a prime minister who can devote all his energy to the country’s challenges.
Activist Court
For years, Netanyahu’s governments have tussled with the Supreme Court over its reach. Many conservatives feel the court has overstepped its authority since the 1990s, when Chief Justice Aharon Barak, appointed under a Labor government, began interpreting Israel’s foundational laws as giving it the power to overturn legislation.
“That was a constitutional revolution,” said Yedidia Stern, a law professor at Bar-Ilan University and a vice president of the Israel Democracy Institute research center. “Now here comes the counter-revolution.”
Key sources of dissension have included rulings against the detention of African migrants and Jewish seminary students’ exemption from military service. The court also has rankled hawkish legislators by ordering the dismantling of unauthorized settlement outposts and re-routing Israel’s West Bank barrier.
In his previous governments, Netanyahu blocked proposals to rein in the court. Now, the two main contenders for justice minister in his next coalition have promised to use the position to curtail the bench’s powers.
Automatic Immunity
According to the emerging strategy, the government would back a return to an earlier system that gave lawmakers immunity from prosecution unless parliament voted to remove it. The Supreme Court could overturn such legislation, but to sidestep that problem the government would enact a law letting parliament override the court with a simple majority, the senior figures said.
Critics say this would remove key restraints on the legislature and prime minister. Israel already lacks many checks and balances found in other democracies, such as a bicameral legislature, a formal constitution or the requirement for a supermajority when amending fundamental laws.
“The only check we have is the Supreme Court,” said Amir Fuchs, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute. “Although the most important thing is the outcome -- the destruction of the rule of law -- the most embarrassing thing is that this is all being done for a personal agenda, to protect Netanyahu.”
Internal Opposition
Even within the prime minister’s party, resistance has arisen. “This legislation offers zero benefit and causes maximum damage,” Netanyahu rival Gideon Sa’ar told Channel 12 on Thursday.
Israel’s system may need tweaking -- but not like this, the IDI’s Stern said.
It should be done “after a sincere, open and professional dialogue among experts representing all sides,” not while forming a government on deadline, he said. “It shouldn’t be a revolution, it should be an evolution.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Michael S. Arnold in Tel Aviv at marnold48@bloomberg.net;Udi Segal in Jerusalem at usegal@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Riad Hamade at rhamade@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark Williams
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