‘Election nullification’: Supreme Court blasted for trying to undo right-wing election victory

Justice Minister slams Supreme Court for hearing petition aimed at nullifying recusal law, says true aim of court case is nullifying the results of Israel’s most recent election.

By World Israel News Staff

Justice Minister Yariv Levin harshly criticized the Supreme Court as it convened to for a hearing regarding the recusal law , saying that the court had overstepped its bounds and that the true aim of the hearing is to invalidate the outcome of Israel’s last election.

In a media statement, Levin said that the petitioners who brought forth the lawsuit attempting to invalidate the recusal law “are actually trying to impeach Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu in order to put an end to right-wing rule.”

“They failed at the ballot box, and now they want to cancel election results,” he added.

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the petition “is de facto a discussion of whether to cancel the election results,” Levin said in a statement to Hebrew-language media outlets.

The Court is set to rule on the legitimacy of a law passed by the Knesset in March 2023, which states that a prime minister can only be forced to resign due to issues of physical or mental fitness. The measure also states that such a move can only occur with the approval of 75 percent of the premier’s cabinet and 80 members of the Knesset.

Some legal scholars have suggested that the Supreme Court may not directly invalidate the law. Rather, the justices could rule that the law only applies to future governments, and not Netanyahu, the prime minister in office when the bill was passed.

That outcome, Levin argued, would be equally catastrophic for Israel’s democratic system.

“The meaning of delaying the implementation of the recusal law is that an unelected official… would be able to hand themselves powers that they were never given, and discuss the delusional option of ordering a prime minister to recuse himself, in total contrast with the election results,” Levin said.

“The result of this would be that Israel will no longer be a democracy, instead being ruled by people who placed themselves above the people, above the voters’ choice in the ballot box.”

MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) supported Levin, telling Army Radio that the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case was problematic.

“The very existence of such a discussion in a democratic state is a very extreme act,” Rothman said.

“It’s like the government holding a discussion on canceling elections.”