In an ongoing protest against the Israeli government’s significant move to overhaul its governance system, news emerged from Tel Aviv that two out of the five deputy commanders of the Israeli Navy – both of the rank of brigadier – have opted out of volunteering for reserve duty.
Concurrently, the heads of research universities and members of the National Council for Civil Research and Development announced that they will advocate for a total economic shutdown, should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceed with his plan and ignore Supreme Court decisions.
An insider close to university heads stated that they’ve officially reached out to the Histadrut labor federation and the Manufacturers Association, urging them to take dramatic action.
They’re calling for an open-ended general strike until Netanyahu acknowledges and abides by court decisions. They emphasized, “Netanyahu’s threat to reject the court’s verdicts creates a catastrophic constitutional crisis. He must understand that such defiance will cause an upheaval in state institutions.”
This stance by the universities emerged after Netanyahu avoided explicitly stating if he would adhere to the court’s orders, should it decide to annul any law passed by the governing coalition.
Observers highlighted that over the past two weeks, Netanyahu had 22 interviews with foreign media outlets. Interestingly, almost all the journalists, primarily Americans, questioned him on whether he would respect the court’s decisions.
They are keenly observing Israeli affairs, attempting to gauge how far Netanyahu might go to modify the governance structure and weaken the judiciary.
Although persistently questioned about his stance on court verdicts, Netanyahu remained evasive, merely expressing hope that the court wouldn’t make decisions undermining the government’s position. Many interpret this as a veiled threat to the court.
