Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday accused Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) of “fascism” following her row with the President of the Supreme Court, Justice Miriam Naor. "Shaked threatens the President of the Supreme Court, three times already this year. This is more extortion than threats of ‘separation of powers’. Only a rhinoceros would fail to see another small step towards fascism. And the opposition?" tweeted Barak. Barak’s comments come a day after Naor sent a sharply worded letter to Shaked, in which she made a veiled threat against Shaked if she delayed convening the Judicial Selection Committee which is supposed to announce the appointment of Esther Hayut as the next Chief Justice. Shaked sent a letter of response to Naor, in which she wrote: "Your letter asks that the President of the Supreme Court be selected more than a hundred days before your retirement, and therefore without any necessity at this time.” "The Judicial Selection Committee will convene on a date that is convenient for all the members of the Committee, on July 18, 2017," Shaked announced. "Only after a discussion in principle will a date be set for a meeting of the Committee in which the identity of the President of the Supreme Court and his deputy will be determined,” she added. Barak has continuously blasted the Israeli government in recent months, particularly Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Last month Barak accused the government of leading towards a reality of one state with an Arab majority. He previously attacked Netanyahu on Twitter and called him “a deceptive and cowardly Prime Minister”, following reports that Netanyahu rejected a document about a regional peace initiative. And, in another interview, Barak charged that Netanyahu had been “kidnapped by right-wing settlers”. Barak, who then served as Netanyahu’s Defense Minister, left the Labor party in 2011 in order to form the Independence party. It is unclear whether he still has political aspirations, though he recently attended a Labor party gathering. (Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shavuot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
