Democracy, Populism, & Domestic Politics, Middle East Netanyahu and the Anatomy of a Constitutional Crisis
Basic Page Sidebar Menu Perry World House
January 17, 2020
By
Elena Chachko | Lawfare
Amidst a flurry of constant political maneuvering, intense legal debate and multiple Supreme Court cases, Israel has been stuck in political and constitutional deadlock for nearly a year. For the first time in its history, Israel will hold a third parliamentary election in the span of just 12 months after the previous rounds failed to produce a viable government. And also for the first time, the Israeli prime minister’s office is occupied by an individual who is facing multiple graft charges involving offenses directly related to his position but refuses to resign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on running for reelection, and he still maintains robust support within his political party, the Likud. Israeli politics have thus become inextricably entangled in his legal predicament.
Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandleblit, has found himself in the untenable role of both Netanyahu’s prosecutor and his advocate: Mandelblit personally authorized Netanyahu’s indictment after lengthy deliberations, but he has also represented the government at the Supreme Court in multiple cases stemming from that same indictment. Several of these cases have challenged Netanyahu’s competence to serve as prime minister, while others pertain to Netanyahu’s effort to secure parliamentary immunity from indictment.
So far, the attorney general has refused to articulate his position on key constitutional issues raised by the current situation, although he has determined that Netanyahu may stay on as caretaker prime minister until the elections. His silence contributes to the stalemate: These are uncharted waters, and there is little legal clarity about what Israel’s constitutional law requires in this situation.
Many questions need answering. One category relates to Netanyahu’s current effort to secure parliamentary immunity from indictment. Is Netanyahu eligible for parliamentary immunity from prosecution while he remains in office? Will he be granted parliamentary immunity as a practical and political matter? Would the Supreme Court uphold a decision by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, to grant him immunity?
