Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar said on Friday that the government would respect any ruling by the Supreme Court, even if it strikes down the recently approved bill reducing the use of the reasonableness standard.
Speaking to Channel 12 News, Zohar disputed the notion that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his interview with CNN on Thursday, avoided Wolf Blitzer’s question on whether he would respect a Supreme Court ruling striking down the legislation.
"There is no chance that the Israeli government will go against the court's position. The court's position is a binding position. We are a democracy, and in order to preserve the strength of the State of Israel as a democratic country, the judicial system needs its strength," said Zohar.
"If there is a court ruling - we will respect it in any situation. But - and it must be said very seriously, there has never been a situation where a court overruled a Basic Law, which in essence serves as a constitution. If such a thing happens, it will really be a big rift," he continued. "We will absolutely respect the court's positions, but I don't want to believe or imagine a situation where the court, for the first time, will strike down a Basic Law."
Zohar also had criticism for the opposition, after the legislation was brought to a vote in the Knesset without consensus from both sides.
"It is clear to all of us, without exception, that in the further advancement of the legislation we will have to make every effort to have a broad consensus. Unfortunately, the opposition dragged its feet in the negotiation rooms. Apparently it preferred the chaos in the streets. It may serve it politically," he said.
Responding to comments by Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, who slammed "bullies" who he said are endangering the country by dragging it into "extremist legislation", Zohar said, "I don't think that such terms should be used. I do think that one thing should be said - the goal of all of us is to promote reform with as broad an agreement as possible. The opposition, as of this moment, has not shown any gesture of goodwill to hold some kind of real dialogue. I don't think that Dichter was talking about [Justice Minister] Levin."
"We were elected by a democratic majority, we received the public's trust to lead the country," he emphasized. "Anyone who thinks that we are comfortable with a narrow coalition is wrong. We would like a broad coalition, but we are not the ones who boycotted. We are not the ones who said they are not prepared for others to join the government."
On the possibility of a unity government without Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, as reportedly is the preference of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Zohar said, "It is unthinkable. We are not in favor of boycotts. We are not ready to agree to a boycott of any kind. With all due respect to Gallant, we would be happy to expand the government in accordance with its fundamental lines. Anyone who wants to join the current government is more than welcome to do so. But not at the expense of someone else. Boycotting a certain public is not the way."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)