The chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) responded on Sunday evening to the results of the elections in Hungary, which indicate a change of government and a defeat for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Rothman seized the opportunity to attack the protesters against the judicial reform and senior figures in Israel's judicial system.
"A bunch of lunatics have been shouting in the streets here for a year that the judicial reform would destroy democracy in Israel and that we would soon become Hungary," Rothman wrote. "And today we discovered that in Hungary it is possible to replace the 'dictator' through democratic elections. He even called to congratulate the winner."
Rothman then directed his criticism squarely at the Attorney General and the President of the Supreme Court. "It is encouraging to think that one day our dictators here - Yitzhak Amit and Gali Baharav-Miara - will also accept the election results. You see? Maybe there really is something to learn from Hungary after all."
Rothman's remarks come against the backdrop of the ongoing tension between the coalition and the judicial establishment. He cited Hungary's democratic mechanism - which has often been cited as a negative example by opponents of the reform - as proof that political power ultimately rests with the voters, in contrast to what he describes as a "judicial dictatorship" in Israel.