Speaking on Galei Tzahal on Thursday, MK Yisrael Eichler of the United Torah Judaism party excoriated the Supreme Court for its ruling declaring Shas head Aryeh Deri unfit to serve as a government minister.
"The Supreme Court does not have the right to demand that we obey it," Eichler said. "The Court is a dictatorship no less than Putin is a dictator. All the Putin-types think that they're right, that they can invade Ukraine, kill innocent people - and the world is silent," he added.
"From an ethical perspective, the Supreme Court cannot demand that someone obey its rulings when they don't obey the law," Eichler continued. "This is a culture war, a slow occupation that has been ongoing for the past twenty to thirty years. When [Menachem] Begin came to power, there were those who said that there would be shooting in the streets, but instead the hegemony of the elites succeeded in minimizing [Begin's] impact and retaining the levers of power in their hands."
Asked his opinion of the public protests against Justice Minister Yariv Levin's proposed reforms to the judiciary, Eichler responded, "It's very important that we permit demonstrations. I am in favor of freedom of expression, but listen to what they're saying: They portray themselves as the rulers, as above everyone else, above the 'stupid' masses. These kinds of expressions should be subject to restrictions.
"We don't want street battles," Eichler clarified. "We are democrats and we want a battle of minds."