President Herzog Condemns Government's Defiance of Supreme Court Ruling on Broadcasting Authority

Israeli President Isaac Herzog sharply criticized the government's decision not to comply with a Supreme Court ruling regarding the Second Broadcasting Authority. Speaking on Sunday, Herzog warned that declarations of disobedience to Supreme Court judgments undermine the core unity of the nation. He emphasized, "I have already made it clear, and I will say it again, disobedience to a court ruling is a red line that must never be crossed."

In response, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi challenged Herzog's stance, questioning his silence when the Supreme Court issued a ruling two weeks earlier that contradicted an explicit legal provision. Karhi asked, "Where was the president then? Where was his red line?" He asserted that the public is no longer willing to remain silent and that the government is working to restore the country to its citizens by obeying the law rather than what he called "illegal Supreme Court decisions."

Karhi also invoked the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's view, quoting Rabin as saying, "The Supreme Court must know its place. I am not impressed by the Supreme Court. It will judge only according to the laws we enact. Even the Supreme Court is subject to the law." The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between the Israeli government and the judiciary over the authority and limits of the Supreme Court's rulings.