Israel’s Movement for Quality Government (MQG), which received funding from the U.S. State Department, is trying to stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking about his own government’s judicial reforms.
As Breitbart News has reported, the MQG has supported recent protests against Netanyahu and his judicial reforms, many of which parallel existing practice in the U.S. The State Department admitted last week that it provided some funding to the group, including under the Trump administration, for education programs, but denied that the U.S. was involved in “propping up or supporting these protests or the initiators of them.”
The MQG is the plaintiff in a complaint to Israel’s Supreme Court, asking it to find Netanyahu in contempt of court for allegedly violating an agreement that he not engage in topics that would post conflicts of interest while he is being prosecuted. Netanyahu faces corruption charges that critics have described as flimsy and politically motivated; the case has run into problems, including allegations that police hacked private phones unlawfully.
For many weeks since taking office in late December, Netanyahu remained quiet about the reforms, but began speaking out about them as protests grew. In response, the MQG filed its claim. The Jerusalem Post reports:
Netanyahu’s legal team asked the court to reject the March 26 Movement for Quality Government in Israel petition, which was filed in response to his March 23 speech announcing his involvement in the judicial reforms and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara’s subsequent warning that it violated his conflict of interest agreement.
The judicial reform goes beyond the scope of the legal arena, and the prime minister was obliged to act in order to try to bring about broad agreement, prevent violence and ensure law and order, the Netanyahu legal team argued. Addressing an issue that has gone beyond the legal realm and into other aspects of the state was required of Netanyahu. As prime minister, he was entrusted with the well-being of the state.
Netanyahu also said that any judges appointed subject to the reforms would not be handling his own case.
Last Monday, Netanyahu suspended the reforms to allow for negotiations with the opposition parties.
The Biden administration denies it is interfering in Israel’s internal politics, yet it has opposed the reforms, and President Joe Biden recently said he will not invite Netanyahu to the White House until he reaches an agreement with opposition parties. Biden contradicted U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who had promised that a White House invitation would be forthcoming after Netanyahu paused the reforms last week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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