David Horovitz’ “plea to the Prime Minister” about the government’s decision to refuse to honor the Supreme Court’s ruling returning the previous 2nd Television and Radio Authority’s governing council – even though its term is long expired, it lacks a legal quota and a new council has already been appointed – is long on pathos but short on reason. The case Horovitz tries to make for his appeal is based on a blatant refusal to acknowledge essential facts.

Let me stipulate that I am not trying to make a case for this government in general.  A former Likud central committee member, I do not intend to vote for any of this government’s component parties. But on the particular topic of Horovitz’ editorial the government is upholding the proper prerogatives of the elected branches and the court, and Horovitz, are in the wrong.

Horovitz claims that this government’s legal and constitutional agenda is “to destroy the equitable rule of law.” This is false. If one examines the decisions this government has taken, in almost every case in which it is engaged in a dispute with the court it followed the letter of the law.  An exception is the decision to require Knesset members to record their vote for the State Comptroller.  In other cases the government has indeed followed the letter of the law.  In passing an amendment to the Basic Law of the Judiciary the government followed the rules for emending Basic Laws the court itself laid down.  In  matters of appointment to offices which the law defines as subject to government appointment the government has followed the law.  In the removal of the Attorney General, the government and the Knesset used their legal authority to change the method of dismissing the attorney general after the review body that the court insisted........

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