Legal Expert Urges Initiating Constitutional Crisis to Restore Separation of Powers in Israel

Following a Supreme Court injunction delaying fund transfers by the Knesset Finance Committee, constitutional and criminal law expert Attorney Yoram Sheftel argued that the court lacks legal authority to interfere in such parliamentary decisions. Sheftel criticized the Supreme Court for not citing any legal basis for overturning the Finance Committee's funding decisions, emphasizing that no law grants the court such power. He recalled a precedent from the early 1980s when judicial intervention in parliamentary immunity was limited strictly to critical rule-of-law issues, underscoring that parliamentary work is exclusively the Knesset's domain.

Sheftel proposed that instead of passively accepting judicial overreach, the government and Knesset should deliberately provoke a constitutional crisis by defying the court's injunction. He suggested that the Finance Committee proceed with the fund transfers and the Treasury execute them, openly challenging the Supreme Court's authority. According to Sheftel, such defiance would expose the court's lack of enforcement power and reaffirm the primacy of the legislative and executive branches, effectively restoring the separation of powers.

This call to action comes amid ongoing tensions between Israel's judiciary and legislature, with Sheftel viewing the current Supreme Court intervention as a prime opportunity to confront and resolve the constitutional imbalance. He argued that a constitutional crisis initiated by the legislature would reveal the limits of judicial power and strengthen democratic governance by clarifying the boundaries between branches of government.