By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We have heard from various reports in the media that upon returning from his visit to the USA’s President, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that he had learned a valuable lesson: that personal loyalty was the paramount consideration when making any appointment.
As soon as Donald Trump was inaugurated, he implemented the plan he had announced in advance, namely, to dismiss any official who had played a part in seeking justice against him for a variety of offences or had expressed criticism of his actions. This, alongside the obliteration of entire segments of officialdom in American governmental institutions undertaken by Elon Musk and his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) stalwarts, has led to considerable disruption of the societal and governmental norms that have prevailed in the USA till now.
While the American system of democracy grants considerable power to its president, in the past this has not been used to the same extent of personal vengeance as it has by Donald Trump.
The ensuing sequence of threats and intimidation has served to silence some—but not all—critics. Professor Robert Reich has spoken out regarding Trump’s campaign against anyone who disagrees with him. Reich has given practical advice to those dissident voices, adding that “giving in to intimidation only invites more intimidation.”
That is certainly a lesson for us in Israel. Our system of democracy differs from the one prevailing in the USA in various respects, which means that the government and the prime minister do not have the power to override the institutions that have been put in place to rein in their ability to govern in autocratic fashion.
The role of the judiciary is to check and balance the power of the government and parliament, ensuring that laws passed by those institutions adhere to the country’s legislation and founding principles. In contrast to the USA, Israel does not have a constitution, although some Basic Laws that have been passed over the years are regarded as taking the place of a constitution.
Thus, when Israel’s founding principles appear to clash with the wishes of the prime minister, we citizens find ourselves facing a dilemma. Which institution deserves our loyalty—the government or the judiciary? Admittedly, the judiciary has not been elected democratically, but nowhere is it written that the wishes of the government override those enshrined in law. After all, Israel is a society based on the rule of law, namely, the premise that the law is supreme by virtue of legislation that has been promulgated over the years.
In his desire to dismiss the various heads of institutions, such as the Attorney General and the Head of the Secret Service, Benjamin Netanyahu is duly following the example set by Donald Trump. These officials have demonstrated that their loyalty is first and foremost to the State rather than to the person of the Prime Minister. These projected dismissals follow the sacking or resignation in recent months of the Minister of Defense and various senior military personnel.
In no previous government in Israel’s history has personal loyalty to the prime minister been set as the determining factor for assuming or remaining in office. The main feature required of anyone in a senior governmental position has generally been some level of probity as well as allegiance to the country as a whole.
We all know that politics is a dirty business, and most politicians are far from perfect. But recent developments in the sphere of government seem to be taking us down a slippery slope to a place where darkness and despotism lurk. And now that one of the tentacles of Qatar finance is popping up in the inner sanctum of the Prime Minister’s Office, it seems (to misquote Hamlet) that something is rotten in the state of Israel.
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.