A niche dispute over an Israeli communications regulator has exploded into a controversy so immense that lawmakers in the Knesset are invoking biblical narratives of exile and warning it could bring about an end to the country’s democratic system.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet is refusing to accept a ruling from the High Court of Justice demanding the Second Authority for Television and Radio, its federal communications regulatory body, resume operations. It is the first time that the Israeli government has refused to comply with a ruling from the High Court, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calling the judges “drunk with power” and comparing them to a Talmudic monster.