Firing the Gatekeepers: Levin’s Constitutional Coup Is Now in Full Swing
What Yariv Levin calls judicial reform has, in truth, become a methodical dismantling of Israel’s constitutional framework. On 8 June 2025, the cabinet officially approved a resolution enabling a ministerial panel to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara—bypassing the legally required statutory committee and, according to legal experts, violating both statutory and constitutional norms (Times of Israel, 8 June 2025). The Supreme Court is widely expected to strike down this resolution. But the more urgent question is: will the government comply? This is no ordinary legal disagreement. It is a constitutional confrontation with the potential to collapse judicial authority. Baharav-Miara has acted with professionalism and restraint—resisting political pressure, upholding legal norms, and defending the independence of her office. For this, she is now facing removal.
Justice Minister Levin has never concealed his intent. His systematic refusal to meet with Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit is not a procedural quirk—it is a calculated act of institutional contempt. His objective is plain: to delegitimize the judiciary, politicize appointments, disarm legal advisers, and eliminate independent voices from the legal system.
As Attorney General, Baharav-Miara fulfilled her obligation to uphold the law by blocking Prime Minister Netanyahu from appointing a new Shin Bet director, citing an existing conflict-of-interest agreement and the binding authority of a Supreme Court ruling—thereby defending both the integrity of the security service and the rule of law (Times of Israel, 26 May 2025).
In response, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, speaking at a public rally outside the Supreme Court, called on the Prime Minister to “ignore the Attorney General’s invalid directive” and declared: “Let’s dismiss her” (Times of Israel Live Blog, 5 June 2025).
This rhetoric is part of a broader pattern. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has described the Attorney General and the Shin Bet as part of a “deep state” conspiracy, weaponizing populist language against core institutions of the state (Times of Israel Live Blog, 6 June 2025).
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has asserted that the Supreme Court “has no legal authority to interfere,” framing judicial review as undemocratic and subordinate to the will of the elected government (Times of Israel, via Reuters, 5 June 2025).
The danger lies not only in the language but in the real possibility that the government will refuse to comply with the Supreme Court’s anticipated decision invalidating the resolution. Should that occur, Israel would cease to function as a country governed by law. Judicial review would become symbolic. Executive power would operate without legal restraint. The separation of powers would be fatally breached.
This is not reform. It is a regime shift executed under the guise of legality. The move to dismiss Baharav-Miara is not an isolated event—it is the culmination of a broader strategy to subordinate all checks on power. If the Supreme Court is defied, it will represent the most profound constitutional rupture in Israel’s history.
Democracies do not always collapse in a single moment. More often, they are hollowed out slowly, institution by institution, until nothing remains but the appearance of normalcy. That moment is no longer hypothetical. It is here. And what happens next will determine whether Israel continues to function as a democracy governed by law—or becomes something else entirely.
