Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Wednesday called for defying the High Court’s unprecedented ruling invalidating the appointment of Michael Rabello as state comptroller.

Levin’s call came after the Cabinet on Sunday announced that it will not recognize the High Court’s ruling reinstating the Second Authority Council appointed by the previous government. In response, High Court justices threatened government members, saying that anyone who fails to obey their decision could bear civil liability and be exposed to lawsuits.

Levin said: “There can be no hesitation. A new election for the position of State Comptroller cannot be held. Rabello should simply take up his position.”

Levin added, “The one creating a constitutional crisis is the court, not us. At no point have we said that we are taking powers that we do not have or doing anything unlawful, nor have we said the court should not intervene. On the contrary, if the government acts unlawfully, there is room for the court to intervene.”

“State employees will receive our full backing. Public servants are subordinate to the government. If the court believes the government has issued an unlawful directive, it can issue an order to the government.”

Levin further stated, “The law explicitly provides that the police are subordinate to the government, so when the police commissioner, on his own initiative, says, ‘I am subordinate to the court,’ that is unacceptable and contrary to the law. It reflects the view that there aren’t three equal branches of government, but rather that the court stands above everyone else. That cannot exist in a democratic state.”

Levin also addressed the audacity of the High Court in an interview with Galey Yisrael on Wednesday morning: “The High Court justices are acting like the worst dictators. I believe that ever since I forcefully put judicial reform on the table, people’s eyes have been opened. Today, people see the unacceptable situation that has developed here—the anti-democratic reality, the trampling of the government’s and the Knesset’s authority, and, as a result, the trampling of the voters’ will and the entire democratic process.

“The result of all this is that the court has moved to the stage of making threats. What branch of government resorts to threats? A branch of government that does not have the public’s trust and believes it can impose its authority and its decisions through intimidation. That is exactly what characterizes the worst dictators—those who have neither the people’s confidence nor public support, and who try to impose their will through force and threats.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)