Recap:
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has been engaged in a two-year battle with the judiciary, said he would revive his plan to limit its authority.
The Context:
· Since 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has sought to limit the powers of the Supreme Court. Levin was the driving force behind the overhaul, which tried to advance legislation that watered down the authority of judges to act as a check on the Knesset. The hugely divisive plan sparked nationwide demonstrations and made little headway before being shelved following Hamas’s October 7th invasion of Israel. Israel does not have a constitution, which blurs the areas of responsibility between the Supreme Court and the Knesset.
· This week, Levin indicated plans to revive the overhaul after the High Court of Justice ordered him to hold a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee for a new Supreme Court president by January 16th [1]. Levin refuses to convene the Committee, who would likely confirm Justice Isaac Amit, the senior serving judge [2]. Levin, who views Amit as too liberal, has attempted to hold off the appointment in hopes of installing committee members more in line with his views. Simultaneously, coalition leaders met to discuss firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has had an acrimonious relationship with the government since it came to power [3].
· Overhaul supporters argue that the High Court’s intervention into political decisions is unreasonable. Most Israelis believe reform is needed in many areas, including the excessive use of the subjective “reasonableness” test for government actions, but that the Supreme Court should have the authority to strike down law’s incompatible with Israel’s Basic Laws. Amit Bechar, president of the Israeli Bar Association, accused Levin of trying to “appoint his loyalists to the Court” [4]. National Unity party MK Benny Gantz said the move “plays into the hands of Israel's enemies”, implying that the judicial reform protests that divided the country in 2022 & 2023 emboldened Hamas to launch its massacre [5].
· According to a recent IDI survey, 58% of Israelis feel that democratic rule in the country is under threat, while trust in all three branches of government is at record lows. Respondents say divisiveness between the right and left is by far the “most acute social tension in Israel today,” whereas Israeli-Arab tension was the top concern in 2022 [6].
Conversation Points:
· Is there a better way to make such an important change to Israel’s status quo between the Knesset and judiciary?
· What guardrails can be put in place to ensure no branch of Israel’s government is too powerful?
· Should an enemy’s perceptions be a reason to forego legislation, however unpopular, that a government deems necessary?
Notes:
1. Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin calls for renewal of Judicial Reforms in latest disagreement with High Court, All Israel, December 15, 2024
2. Israel’s government is again trying to hobble its Supreme Court, The Economist, Sep 19th, 2024
3. Netanyahu allies look to marshal support for ousting AG and reviving judicial overhaul, Sam Sokol, Times of Israel, December 15th, 2024
4. Justice Minister Levin revives controversial judicial reform, Nadav Elimelech, i24, December 15th, 2024
5. Benny Gantz: 'Sinwar attacked because of judicial reform', Hezki Baruch, Israel National News, December 16th, 2024
6. Most Israelis worried for democracy, study finds; trust in Knesset, government down, Jeremy Sharon, Times of Israel, December 17th, 2024
Comments