The Judicial puppet master: How Netanyahu helped 1 judge control the State of Israel for 30 years

The academic-judicial elite—namely, the senior and veteran law professors in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, along with some Supreme Court and District Court judges—despite their disagreements on legal and governmental issues and their general lack of admiration for Netanyahu, have long understood that the conduct of the Israel Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office toward Mr. Netanyahu constitutes a methodological disaster from a historical perspective for the activist legal agenda in Israel.

This disaster emerged from the bureaucratic-executive-public-administrative ranks of the judicial system (the prosecution/police)—a rank that gained power within the activist legal framework but remained secondary in terms of moral authority and judicial capability within the judicial mechanism.

In a way, the prosecution and police’s handling of Netanyahu’s cases symbolizes, in an almost troubling manner for 'veteran activists,' a kind of internal coup within the legal power structure, in which police officers, prosecutors, and investigators attempted to overturn not only figures like Rafael Eitan (Raful), Haim Ramon, or even Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who challanged the courts, but actually people like Netanyahu who served well the interests of the judicial system for 40 years.

In effect, it can be said that former attorney general Shai Nitzan sought to become the next Aharon Barak without understanding that the path to such a position does not pass through political eliminations, but rather through an independent legal philosophy.

Nitzan also failed to understand that the path to such a status does not necessarily go through eliminating political allies like Netanyahu.

Historically, in some sense, the leading figures of the judicial system in the last generation—Shai Nitzan and Roni Alsheikh—symbolize a generational decline (not that the previous generation was any better...).

They not only erred in problematic indictments and investigative procedures, but also in the attempt to take down a leader who, compared to Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Shamir, or Ehud Olmert, was willing to entrust the full governance of the country to judicial rulings, made a giant mistake.

On the other hand, Netanyahu loyalists, who lack deep understanding of the internal politics of the judicial system, Israeli history, Netanyahu’s cunning nature, and the friendly relations between Netanyahu and Justice Barak himself, failed to grasp that the attack on Bibi was not an attack on the people and their representative, but rather just another Likud leader who, like Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir before him, rolled out the red carpet for the judges of the Supreme Court—except that unlike them, the system he empowered turned against him—or at least, as noted, part of it did.

In 1997, Ruth Gavison published an important article in Legal Journal 'Mishpatim' about the "constitutional revolution." In a 128-page essay, she spoke of a self-fulfilling prophecy and urged the Knesset to intervene to restrain the Supreme Court. Netanyahu, whether he read Gavison or not, never intended or attempted to do so.

The deal was clear: You will control 80% of the civil sphere, some of the military, and much of the language. I will handle the economy and parts of "the occupation."

Attorney Barashi, Eli Zipori, and other Netanyahu loyalists, who obsessively search for flaws in the prosecution and police while blaming the entire judicial system, fail to understand that:

Professor Daniel Friedman's Perspective

Professor Daniel Friedman writes: "More than once, the judicial system has managed to bring about the ousting of party leaders and contribute to changes in Israel’s political map."

He points out that "In 1977, Yitzhak Rabin was forced to resign as Prime Minister over an offense that was far from severe, and which the Supreme Court ruled did not carry moral turpitude. As a result, he could not lead the ruling party in the elections, and the outcome was a severe loss for his replacement, Shimon Peres, and a political upheaval."

Friedman continues: "The second Rabin government, established in 1992, was severely weakened by the judicial system, which completely destabilized it through an unprecedented decision with no legal basis, requiring Prime Minister Rabin to dismiss Shas leader Aryeh Deri due to an indictment against him. Shas withdrew, and the government was greatly weakened."

Friedman also recalls how "the ruling party’s leader, Ehud Olmert, was ousted through an unjustified legal process, one that has few, if any, precedents worldwide... In the elections following his resignation, power shifted rightward to Likud."

Friedman further mentions the Prosecution’s appeal against Olmert’s acquittals in 2012, which, according to him, was "one of the factors influencing Olmert’s decision not to run in the 2013 elections."

Again, this move strengthened the right and improved right-wing parties’ chances of securing a majority.

Friedman concludes: "The right attributes leftist tendencies to the Supreme Court… [but] paradoxically, the judicial system has actually contributed to the right’s rise to power."

He adds: "The legal system’s dictates have shaped government composition by disqualifying ministers in general or for specific roles, as happened with Rafael Eitan, Yaakov Neeman, Reuven Rivlin, and Haim Ramon."

The Real Strategy: The Judiciary Appoints Right-Wing Governments to Rule Over the People from Above

Gentlemen, this is a method. Justice Aharon Barak’s associates have dismantled three center-left governments, each time replacing them with Menachem Begin or Netanyahu—both of whom had far closer relations with Justice Barak than Rabin ever did.

Everyone, as is well known, became obedient servants of the judicial system which Barak has been controlling for 50 years.

The truth is that the judiciary systematically installs “right-wing” governments to maintain control over the people from above. Therefore, the claim that the entire system hates the right is false. The real blame lies with "right-wing leader" Netanyahu, who sold his soul decades before the investigations against him even began.

It seems that the U.S. administration, the prosecution, and the Israel Police ambushed the Barak doctrine—because, as Friedman proves, the judicial system prefers narrow right-wing governments that enable it to rule.

This serves as circumstantial historical evidence that Elad Pressman’s theory—that the cases against Bibi originate from the security establishment in Jerusalem and Washington—may not be far from the truth.

Yet Netanyahu’s voters continue to sacrifice themselves for a man who threw them under the bus of history.

After the Bank Mizrahi ruling IN 1995, Netanyahu had plenty of opportunities to return power to the people—but he did not. He is not a leader on the level of Ariel Sharon or Yitzhak Rabin.

Netanyahu’s supporters have never understood that they admire a man who is aligned with those they see as their opposition.

Therefore, they fail to see that even within the system itself, doubts exist regarding the behavior of the other top ranks.

Netanyahu’s voters' continued submission to him is the continued victory of the judicial coup.

Good luck.