As the administration attempts to limit the authority of the courts, the Supreme Court ordered that Aryeh Deri, a close ally of the prime minister who was convicted of tax fraud, should be removed from his positions.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that a politician convicted of tax fraud was unfit to serve as a senior minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new right-wing coalition, a move that is likely to accelerate a looming showdown between the government and the judiciary over control of the country’s highest court and could destabilise the government.
Ten of the eleven judges on the panel ruled against the appointment of the minister, Aryeh Deri, the leader of an ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party and a close ally of Netanyahu, on the basis of “extreme unreasonableness,” primarily due to his recent conviction and suspended prison sentence, and recommended that the prime minister remove him from his posts.
The judgement was made at a time when Mr. Netanyahu, who is himself on trial for corruption, and the judiciary are engaged in a struggle over the Supreme Court, with the prime minister and his coalition partners seeking greater control over legal matters, including the selection of judges. In recent weeks, these initiatives have sparked protests in towns throughout Israel, with many Israelis worried that the judicial reforms could damage the country’s democratic institutions.
Mr. Netanyahu must now determine whether he will follow the court’s verdict or ignore it and rule a “illegal” administration, as described by opposition leaders.
Mr. Netanyahu went to Mr. Deri’s home in a primarily ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem shortly after the verdict was issued. After the 45-minute meeting, Mr. Netanyahu remarked, “When my brother is in trouble, I go to him.”
