In a stunning power grab that would make any aspiring autocrat blush, Israel’s unelected judicial and security establishment is openly defying the will of the nation’s democratically elected government. What we’re witnessing isn’t just a bureaucratic squabble—it’s nothing short of an institutional coup.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s justified attempt to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar—a man whose intelligence agency catastrophically failed to prevent the October 7th massacre—has been met with unprecedented obstruction from an activist Supreme Court and an Attorney General with glaring conflicts of interest.
The facts speak for themselves: On October 6th, the Shin Bet detected Hamas operatives activating Israeli SIM cards en masse—an unmistakable warning sign of the impending attack. Bar, in his infinite wisdom, decided this intelligence wasn’t worth sharing with the Prime Minister. The next day, 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered.
This alone would justify immediate dismissal in any functioning democracy. Instead, we’re told by unelected judges that the Prime Minister—whose legal authority to fire the Shin Bet chief is explicitly codified in Israeli law—cannot exercise this power because, conveniently, the Shin Bet has suddenly launched an investigation into Netanyahu’s office.
The timing is beyond suspicious. The very day Bar was required to submit his report detailing the Shin Bet’s October 7th failures, he magically announced a probe into alleged “Qatar ties” within Netanyahu’s office. Hours later, the Supreme Court and Attorney General—a close personal friend of Bar who vacations with him—declared Netanyahu cannot fire Bar due to “conflict of interest.”
This is the deep state playbook in action: When accountability looms, launch investigations against those seeking to hold you accountable.
For decades, Israel’s Supreme Court has operated as what can only be described as a self-perpetuating oligarchy. Judges select their own successors, ensuring ideological continuity, while striking down laws and government decisions based on nothing more than their subjective sense of “reasonableness.” The result is judicial tyranny masquerading as judicial review.
The Attorney General, meanwhile, is refusing to represent the government—her literal job description—while simultaneously forbidding Netanyahu from interviewing potential replacements for Bar. In any other democracy, such insubordination would be grounds for immediate dismissal.
What we’re witnessing is the death throes of Israel’s leftist establishment. Having lost at the ballot box for over two decades as Israeli voters increasingly reject their failed policies, they’ve retreated to their last bastions of power—the judiciary and security agencies—to undermine the democratically elected government.
Make no mistake: Netanyahu’s cabinet is taking the right approach by defying these illegitimate constraints. A Supreme Court that invents powers for itself cannot complain when a government finally refuses to acknowledge those fictional authorities.
For all the hand-wringing about “threats to democracy,” the real threat has always been a judiciary that believes itself superior to the people’s elected representatives. True democracy requires that those making policy decisions answer to voters, not to judges who answer to no one.
The October 7th massacre demonstrated the catastrophic consequences of intelligence failures. Those responsible must be held accountable, regardless of their political connections or institutional protections. Anything less dishonors the memory of those who perished due to these failures.
Netanyahu must stand firm. This moment isn’t just about one security chief—it’s about whether Israel will be governed by those elected by its citizens or by an entrenched elite that views democratic outcomes as mere suggestions to be overruled when inconvenient.
The choice couldn’t be clearer: democracy or judicial autocracy. For Israel’s future, let’s hope democracy prevails.
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki is the Executive Director of Israel365 Action.
