Threat to Democracy: Aharon Barak's Electric Taser

Meir Uziel attacks the statements of Aharon Barak, who claimed that the government controls the Knesset and that laws harming the principles of the Declaration of Independence can be invalidated. The author warns against expanding the power of the Supreme Court at the expense of elected officials, and calls the use of the Declaration of Independence as a basis for invalidating laws a dangerous 'electric taser' for democracy.

Meir Uziel sharply attacks the statements of former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, who gave a speech claiming that the government controls the Knesset and that laws harming the 'Jewish and democratic nuclei' of the Declaration of Independence can be invalidated. The author calls Barak's approach an 'electric taser' threatening democracy, and warns against expanding the power of the Supreme Court at the expense of elected officials. Uziel argues that Barak's statements are inaccurate: Knesset members can bring down a government, and ministers are independent in their fields. He notes that the Declaration of Independence is not a constitution and is open to various interpretations, and points out that its drafters, led by Ben-Gurion, maintained military rule over Israeli Arabs for years. The author expresses concern that current judges, inspired by Barak, may not act with due caution.