Under cover of the war, a governmental and constitutional putsch is now taking place in Israel without a shot being fired. If this putsch isn't stopped, it will turn Israel into a de facto dictatorship within weeks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are assassinating democracy.
There's a human tendency to repress situations like this. Over the last century, entire societies have been in this way. We must not let this happen to us.
The only way to prevent a dictatorship at such a late stage is by shutting down the country through large-scale, nonviolent civil disobedience, 24/7, until this government falls. But ordinary people aren't democracy's first line of defense. That would be the leaders, gatekeepers and elected officials.
Since this is their duty and their responsibility, we are entitled to expect key players in the country – opposition leaders; the president; the attorney general, who has shown rare courage and a spine; the Supreme Court; and the heads of the defense establishment, meaning the defense minister, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Mossad director and head of the Shin Bet security service – each according to his or her powers and positions, to realize that these aren't normal times but an emergency, a clear and present danger to Israel's very existence as a democracy in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, and therefore to take off the gloves and work with all their might to stop this criminal putsch. No office holder who ignores the writing on the wall will be acquitted by history's verdict.
Democracy isn't a tyranny of the majority. It requires a balance between the majority's positions and minority rights and human rights. It requires a commitment to the separation of powers, checks and balances, a constitutional document like the Declaration of Independence and, above all, constraints that ensure the above conditions will be met – namely, subordinating the government and the prime minister to the rule of law.
Remove that constraint, and you're living in a dictatorship in which nothing is guaranteed – not individual freedom and individual rights, not minorities' freedom and minority rights, not the government's commitment to its citizens, not the existence of free elections and not the moral authority to send soldiers into battle.
Roughly six weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously, in a panel of nine justices, that the attorney general is the person authorized to interpret the law for the executive branch unless a court rules otherwise. Her interpretation of the law reflects the existing legal situation, and therefore, her interpretation binds the executive branch. An unambiguous statement.
When the government, at the initiative of the man who heads it, defiantly ignores a Supreme Court ruling, it is a "rebellious government" – a government that is rebelling against the rule of law and the fundamental principles of democracy, and has therefore removed itself from the bounds of legitimacy. And when a prime minister deliberately pushes through cabinet resolutions in defiance of the attorney general's interpretation – that is, in defiance of the law – there are no bounds to what he might do. He could order people arrested for no reason or prevent free elections. This is a dictatorship situation.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid speaking to lawmakers from his Yesh Atid party this week.Credit: נעמה גרינבאום
Opposition leaders must address the public together and say the following: "The person responsible for October 7 and for the most unsuccessful war in our history cannot lead Israel into the new era that is on our doorstep. We urge all Israelis, the Histadrut labor federation, employers, municipalities and academia to join us in nonviolent civil disobedience until the government is replaced." The president must also take a clear position on this issue.
The attorney general should order the Shin Bet and the Justice Ministry department that probes police misconduct to investigate the fact that some 13,000 guns have been handed out in violation of the law. As an interim preventive measure, she should also order all these guns to be collected. Otherwise, they will also be used to shoot Israelis. The people responsible for the thuggish break-ins at the Sde Teiman and Beit Lid army bases and the army's induction center should also be put on trial.
When the prime minister is working to establish a dictatorship, his blatant disregard of the attorney general's instructions constitutes an extreme case that necessitates a discussion on declaring him incapacitated to serve. Anyone who knowingly and systematically ignores his subordination to the law and who has a conflict of interests due to his own political needs isn't fit to lead the country.