Rivlin lambasts attack on rule of law, hinting at Netanyahu's criticism

“Respect for the rule of law has been eroded over the years," the president said on Tuesday at a ceremony honoring Shin Bet officers.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: JANUARY 22, 2019 14:06
President Reuven Rivlin (C) at a ceremony, January 22nd, 2019 (photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin (C) at a ceremony, January 22nd, 2019
(photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin has hinted about his disagreement on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his likely indictment by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit.
“Respect for the rule of law has been eroded over the years," the president said on Tuesday at a ceremony honoring Shin Bet officers.
"The law is seen as artificial, onerous, limiting and irritating. But this is a grievous misunderstanding of the importance of the law. The law is our social and national moral code. The law is our common consent, [by] all parts of our society, to live together. It is the way that society turns its disorder into a success story.”
Netanyahu attacked Mandelblit’s decision to be interviewed by Hadashot News on Saturday night, claiming that the attorney-general's choice was “unprecedented in the history of Israeli justice,” he said Saturday evening.
“The choice to cooperate with such a plan, at such a time, is unprecedented in the history of Israeli justice and raises serious questions,” Netanyahu said.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.