*Chairman of the Movement for Quality Government: “This government is behaving like a bunch of anarchists in suits. On Saturday night, we will take to the streets to remind everyone: There is no government that is above the law.”
The Movement for Quality Government calls on the general public to participate in a demonstration to be held on Saturday night, July 11, at 8:00 PM in Habima Square in Tel Aviv, following the government’s decision not to recognize the decisions of the Second Authority Council that were made in accordance with the High Court’s interim order. According to the Movement, this is an unprecedented move that puts the government in direct conflict with the rule of law and undermines one of the fundamental principles of democracy – the obligation to respect court decisions.
The Movement, which petitioned together with the Journalists’ Association, the Press Council, the News Corporation, and the Association for the Preservation of Legal Values against the appointment process of the Second Authority Council, warns that the significance goes far beyond the controversy surrounding the Second Authority. When a government announces that it will not act in accordance with a judicial decision, it creates a dangerous precedent: If the government can choose which court decisions to uphold and which not to uphold – why should a citizen be obliged to uphold them?
It is important to emphasize that the Second Authority Council is the body that oversees commercial television and radio broadcasts in Israel, including commercial news channels. Precisely for this reason, the government’s conduct in the matter has broad public significance, concerning the independence of media supervision and the preservation of independent government institutions from political interference.
In parallel with the public protest, the Movement will apply to the court with a request under the Contempt of Court Ordinance, and will ask the court to exercise the powers at its disposal to ensure that its decisions are upheld. The Movement emphasizes that in a state under the rule of law, there is no possibility of choosing which judicial decisions to honor and which not to honor, and that the obligation to obey court decisions applies to every person and every government authority alike.
Attorney Dr. Eliad Shraga, Chairman of the Movement for Quality Government: “This is a government that acts as if the law is a recommendation. Anarchists in suits, who sit around the government table, cannot decide that the court is binding on the citizens but not on them. The rule of law does not apply only to the public – it binds the government first and foremost. Therefore, we call on the public to come to Habima Square on Saturday night and say in a clear voice: There is no government above the law. We fight for the home – we protect democracy.”
