There’s something different about this exchange of fire between Netanyahu and the judicial system
Just when you think that the relationship between the government and the judiciary has hit rock bottom, a new low is set. In an opinion last week, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara declared that Major General David Zini’s appointment as Shin Bet head was unlawful, and that Netanyahu must cede the authority to nominate a replacement to another minister. That’s the closest she’s come yet to declaring the prime minister legally incapacitated from fulfilling his duties.
Netanyahu had announced Zini’s appointment as a calculated act of defiance, in the belief that he would benefit either way. If he did succeed in imposing Zini on the system, it would be a much-needed win in his long running conflict with the judicial branch. Netanuahu assessed that the attorney general would likely fail to derail the nomination even if she tried, on the assumption that Zini won’t be disqualified by the appointments committee on the basis of ethics or character flaws. Netanyahu is still confident that Zini’s nomination will pass the cabinet, even without him.
But even if the High Court does thwart the appointment — and we saw in the Ronen Bar ruling that the court is more than willing to set new precedents at the government’s expense — Netanyahu will benefit with his base. And in his view, the election campaign is already in full swing.
Zini is the archetype of the national-religious voter Netanyahu thinks he can win over. A settler and father of 11 whose opinions aren’t far from those of Smotrich and Ben Gvir, Zini is Netanyahu’s message to the religious Zionist base: I’m on your side, I’m the one promoting your fighters from field positions to senior command positions.
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