Web desk(National Times)- Israel\u2019s attorney general warned on Monday of the country\u2019s democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government, specifically regarding the judiciary\u2019s independence and the executive\u2019s disregard for court rulings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government\u2019s legal adviser, has clashed with Netanyahu\u2019s government since it took office in late 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven the approach of the end of the current Knesset\u2019s term, a race has begun to eliminate democratic institutions,\u201d Baharav-Miara said at a conference of the Israeli Bar Association on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed specifically to two bills currently travelling through Israel\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first aims to split the attorney general\u2019s powers by creating a \u201cprosecutor general\u201d position appointed by the justice minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second bill aims to grant far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir more powers over the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at the conference in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, Baharav-Miara also denounced what she said was the government\u2019s general disregard for court rulings, according to a statement from her office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a situation where the government calls for court rulings not to be obeyed, the day is not far off when a court judgment will be perceived by the public as non-binding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baharav-Miara was referring in part to the government\u2019s inaction in implementing military conscription for Israel\u2019s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, who until recently were exempted from serving in the army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s Supreme Court has repeatedly challenged the exemption in recent years, culminating in a 2024 ruling that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netanyahu, however, relies on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties to sustain his government and so has fought efforts to end the exemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is not possible, from a legal standpoint, to cooperate with a situation in which, on the one hand, the government increases the burden on those who serve, while on the other hand it permits mass draft evasion, and some would even say encourages it,\u201d Baharav-Miara said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web desk(National Times)- Israel\u2019s attorney general warned on Monday of the country\u2019s democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government, specifically regarding the judiciary\u2019s independence and the executive\u2019s disregard for court rulings. Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government\u2019s legal adviser, has clashed with Netanyahu\u2019s government since it took office in late 2022. \u201cGiven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n