One kindness that man did for us is that we don’t really believe in his existence. Because if it’s already a war over democracy, it’s better that the other side be represented by Shlomo Karai.
After Benjamin Netanyahu announced the dismissal of the head of Shin Bet, I spoke with several leaders of the protest and opposition. They all expressed the same concern: it will be difficult to mount a significant public struggle against the continuation of the Shin Bet chief’s tenure. Most of the public thinks Ronen Bar should go, and Bar himself announced he will leave. These are tough starting conditions for a significant public struggle. The hope was that the dispute could be framed around the question of obedience to the law.
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Gila Kanfi-Shtainitz issued a brief decision: the government’s decision to dismiss the head of Shin Bet is suspended until further notice. The Shin Bet leadership change was set only for April 10, or until a new head of Shin Bet is appointed. A wise government would have ignored this and moved on. Fortunately, we have Karai, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the others, who said they would not obey the Supreme Court’s decision. They awakened all centers of protest. Netanyahu’s manipulative announcement highlighted more what it lacked: a statement that he commits to obeying the Supreme Court.
A tsunami wave rose. Arnon Bar-David, chairman of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor), who was burned by that same strike for the hostages—where it seemed he did not control half of the Histadrut—suddenly had something to work with. A labor dispute that begins with the government not obeying the law might even be defendable in the Labor Court. The coalition that stopped the regime revolution was resurrected: employers’ organizations, the Forum of Economic Leaders, 60 heads of local authorities including Jerusalem and Haifa, major law firms, university presidents—all recording a glorious chapter in opposing moves that would change the character of the state; the high-tech protest, everyone—like a class reunion—renewed relations and started getting back to business. The demonstrations already looked completely different.
This current week will not improve the mood of the protesters. The terrible budget will pass, the government will be guaranteed at least another year, and to top it off: from the next Knesset, there will be a change in the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee, which will become saturated with politics. The question is whether the protest will survive this week. The fatigue is still here, the Knesset is going into recess, and apparently there will be nothing left to fight over except the issue of the Shin Bet chief.
Before Netanyahu stands a relatively easy way to defuse this minefield. He can announce that one of Ronen Bar’s deputies will be appointed head of Shin Bet. Quite quickly afterward, he can agree with Bar on a retirement date, and the Supreme Court petition will become irrelevant. The fact that he hasn’t done this yet shows how much he envies Donald Trump and wants someone of his own to lead Shin Bet—someone who will do to the organization what Ben-Gvir did to the police. Any other candidate, even a senior former Mossad official, will be met with enormous suspicion. The longer Netanyahu delays the decision, the easier it will be for the protest to gain momentum and for the Supreme Court to make a ruling.
So far, the Supreme Court has not risen to the magnitude of the moment. The High Court allowed the government meeting to be convened to dismiss the Shin Bet chief, despite good reasons to delay. It permitted Ben-Gvir’s appointment as Minister of National Security, despite good reasons to delay it. Netanyahu has no “goodwill points.” If they make a decision he dislikes, the attacks on them will not be offset by “good behavior” beforehand. Meanwhile, facts on the ground have been established: Ben-Gvir is Minister of National Security, and the police behave accordingly. After the facts are set, the task of deciding on the petitions themselves becomes more difficult for the Supreme Court judges. The Attorney General and the head of Shin Bet are bravely fighting this war for democracy. It’s time for the High Court to join them.