Constitutional crisis? Israeli gov't says it will ignore Supreme Court freeze on media regulator

Such a rejection of a High Court ruling would mark a first: the government openly defying such an order and could lead to a constitutional crisis.

The government decision on Sunday stated that it would not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action made by the council while it allegedly fails to meet the statutory threshold.

The situation could lead to a constitutional crisis if the government does not accept the Second Authority Council's decisions, thereby going against the Supreme Court.

Karhi has been spearheading the contentious communications reform bill that seeks to restructure Israel’s broadcasting oversight system and bring about sweeping reforms to the country's broadcasting sector.

“The rule of law is not the rule of judges,” Karhi added.

He stated that the government had  “made its position clear: when the High Court tramples the law, the state will not cooperate.”

“A two-thirds majority is a legal requirement, not a recommendation, and a council that does not meet the statutory threshold established by the legislature has no legal standing, and its decisions are null and void," Kahri continued.

Levin argued that "the government has a duty to ensure that the law, and only the law, serves as the source of governmental authority. We will continue to use every lawful means available to restore the rule of law.”

The tensions come amid the government's ongoing rift with the judiciary.

Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs, later in the evening, claimed that Karhi and Levin's statement contained no wording calling for non-compliance with the High Court of Justice ruling.

Denying the earlier statement that said the government  "would not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action made by the council," Fuchs argued that there was no word in the statement that "calls for non-compliance with the High Court of Justice ruling, but rather sharp criticism of a ruling that contradicts the explicit language of the law."

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reportedly told the High Court of Justice in the evening that the government’s decision undermined fundamental principles of the rule of law.

In the submission to the court, she also warned that the government’s refusal to comply with its ruling posed a threat to the justice system.

The Second Authority for Television and Radio is Israel's public regulator responsible for overseeing commercial television and radio

Karhi's controversial communications reform bill seeks to restructure Israel’s broadcasting oversight system, beginning with the Second Authority.

Earlier in May, Supreme Court Justice Alex Stein issued a temporary order freezing the activity of the new Second Authority for Television and Radio Council, barring it from convening or making decisions until further notice after the state again asked for more time to respond to a series of petitions challenging the government’s appointments to the media regulator.

The decision immediately halted the work of the council appointed by the government in March, including the appointment of Yifat Ben-Hay Segev as chairwoman, and of attorney Kinneret Barashi and Haim Shine as council members.

In June, the government claimed the High Court's ruling allowed the previous government’s Second Authority Council to resume activity despite its membership falling below the minimum required by law.

The tensions also come amid the government's ongoing rift with the judiciary.

Opposition party leaders from the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections sharply criticized the government’s decision not to adhere to a Supreme Court injunction.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together Party, stated that  refusing to comply with a court ruling “leads to anarchy in the streets and the disintegration of our country.”

He pledged that the next government would “ fix everything” and that there would soon be “one law for everyone."

The Democrats leader Yair Golan stated that the government was "criminal" and had “lost its brakes,” ahead of the elections.

“This is a government that wants to practice and normalize disobedience to the court, so that tomorrow it can refuse to accept the results of the elections and decline to transfer power after being defeated."

“The liberal and democratic public is determined and strong and will not allow this to happen. Israel was established as a democracy and will remain a democracy,” Golan added.

Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot slammed Netanyahu, saying that he was dividing Israel and that the government was “raising a hand against Israeli democracy.”

“The citizens of Israel deserve a government that unites the people, not a government that works to divide them,” he added.

"This is the most serious constitutional crisis in the history of Israel; it is a collapse of the foundations of our democracy," he stated.

"If the government sees that it is going to lose the elections, it will announce that it is postponing them due to a tense security situation, or for any other reason, and there will be no possibility of appealing this in court," he said.

"It doesn't end here. We are not helpless. We will not give in to the attempts to erase Israeli democracy. We have many ways to respond. It doesn't end today, it is just beginning," he concluded.

MK Oded Forer from the Yisrael Beytenu Party led by Avigdor Liberman questioned: "If government ministers do not comply with court rulings, why should organized crime families comply? Why should citizens pay taxes?"