MK Shelly Yachimovich (Zionist Union) has called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to fire Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), following the latter's criticism of the Supreme Court.
"Shaked's lashing out at at the Supreme Court is a dangerous act of violence," she claimed. "Shaked is trying to destroy the justice system's independence, to scare and to threaten the judges. This is unfortunate conduct for someone who is supposed to strengthen the Supreme Court in Israel, one of the best courts in the world."
MK Yachimovich continued, "Instead of praising the existence of an independent and impartial Court, she is trying with all her might to weaken its standing. The Israeli public places its faith in the Supreme Court and gives it -- according to every poll -- very high marks, despite the rhetoric against it. It's not the same for the political system, whose standing continues to decline, largely due to the irresponsible conduct of government ministers.
"The judiciary's independence is a basic fundamental of democracy, and if the damage to it continues, Netanyahu will no longer be able to boast that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East."
Zionist Union head Yitzhak Herzog also offered harsh words for Shaked from his Twitter account. "Moti Yogev's D9 is nothing compared to Shaked's artillery attacks on the Supreme Court. Her tirade against the Court is a disgrace and crosses the line. She is shooting and breaking and bringing down the house on all of us," he wrote.
Shaked responded to the calls to fire her and said, "I am disappointed that those are always talking about the need for free expression tend to restrict it when it comes to things with which they disagree and that are difficult to hear.
"I began my talk by saying that, in my opinion, even the deepest controversy can be an important tool for advancing the public discourse and challenging the general mindset. I continued with the important and relevant example of the Supreme Court's ruling on the gas outline because I consider it to be a mistaken ruling. When you respect the ruling you can also criticize it."
She concluded by saying, "MK Yachimovich is crossing the line. Calling for the firing of an Israeli minister for faithfully fulfilling his or her duty, and for loudly expressing the values for which he or she was chosen is absurd. That is the dangerous behavior that we must avoid. That is the true attempt at an empty political assassination, an attempt to intimidate elected officials for their opinions."