Justice Minister Levin revives controversial judicial reform
The Supreme Court ordered Yariv Levin to select a president for the court, leading the justice minister to say he had 'no choice' but to renew the controversial judicial overhaul
Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced his intention to revive the controversial judicial reform, which was suspended since the start of the war against Hamas on October 7, 2023. In a long message posted Saturday night, he accused the Supreme Court of having "left him no choice" after it ordered him to appoint a new president within a month.
"The government acted responsibly by suspending everything related to reform at the outbreak of the war," Levin said. "The Court, with unprecedented irresponsibility, decided to take advantage of this to continue to seize the powers of the Knesset and the government."
A meeting of coalition party heads is scheduled later to discuss the legal issues on the agenda, including the sought-after reforms, dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and the Supreme Court's order for Levin to select a president for the court. In addition, Levin seeks changing how Supreme Court judges are selected and altering the make-up of the selection committee.
A bill to change the committee passed in first reading before the start of the war on first reading. However, at the moment, there is not enough support in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Several key parties stand in the way of Levin's proposed reforms, including ultra-Orthodox parties demanding a law canonizing the long-standing policy of exempting Yeshiva students from the military draft.
Amit Bechar, president of the Israeli Bar Association (which has strong representation in the selection committee), responded to Levin by accusing the minister of "lying to the public."
"He never sought appeasement or consensus," Bechar said. "All he wanted was to appoint his loyalists to the Supreme Court and prevent the appointment of a president."
According to judicial system sources quoted by Ynet, "the three most powerful men in Israeli politics now have a vested interest in trying to intimidate the advisor: the Prime Minister because of his trial, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir due to the blocking of his political intervention in the police, and Shas leader Arieh Deri on the issue of conscription."