Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Says Supreme Court Is Undermining Democracy

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, sharply criticized the Supreme Court for intervening in Basic Laws and government decisions. He said the central issue in the coming election is not sectoral politics, but who holds sovereignty in Israel, the public and its elected representatives, or the legal system.

According to Eliyahu, the upcoming vote will decide between "rule of the people" and "rule of the judges." He argued that when the court cancels Basic Laws, government decisions, and appointments made by elected officials, it damages the foundations of democracy and "destroys it from within." He added, "In a democracy, the people are sovereign, not a group of judges who are not elected by the public."

He also warned, "Let there be no mistake, it is important that the public knows, the next election is about who is sovereign, elected officials or the judges of the Supreme Court." Eliyahu said the dispute should be conducted only through democratic means and urged the public to express its position at the ballot box.