Former Supreme Court presidents, ex-judges demand PM halt attacks on judiciary

142 former judges decry ‘unbridled’ coalition attacks on courts, say Smotrich’s call to ‘trample’ on Supreme Court head Isaac Amit implies incitement to acts of violence

Four former Supreme Court presidents, along with dozens of other retired judges, on Wednesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein in the coalition members’ vitriolic rhetorical attacks against the judiciary, the Supreme Court, and its current head, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit.

The judges, who are retired from positions in both the Supreme and lower courts, said the “unbridled” attacks in recent days have used language that could be understood as incitement to violence, and asserted that the vilification of the judiciary has the potential to do immediate damage to Israel’s legal system, which would undermine Israeli democracy and Zionism itself.

The letter was signed by former Supreme Court presidents Uzi Vogelman, Esther Hayut, Dorit Beinisch, and Aharon Barak, and included a total of 142 retired judges.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not respond to a request for comment.

“We, retired judges and presidents of the courts in Israel, hereby express our deep concern in light of the campaign of smears, verbal violence, insults and contempt that have been uttered for some time toward the judges of Israel and the person who stands at their head, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit,” wrote the judges.

These attacks have become “a daily spectacle of unbridled systemic outrage threatening the democratic basis of the country,” the judges continued, and pointed to comments by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the government would “trample” on Amit as implying “incitement to actual acts of violence” against the Supreme Court president.

“Without a properly functioning judicial system and without independent judicial review, Israeli democracy will give way to the wild arbitrariness of a coercive government and a profound fracture of the Zionist dream,” they continued in reference to denunciations by the government of Supreme Court rulings in recent months.

“We, retired judges and presidents of all the courts in Israel, hereby call on the prime minister to act immediately with all means at his disposal to put an end to the dangerous phenomena of attacks against the judiciary and President Amit, who deserves full trust and praise for the manner in which he fulfills his duties,” they wrote.

They also called on the law enforcement agencies to ensure judges’ safety. The row is taking place against the backdrop of the government’s years-long effort to weaken the courts through its controversial judicial overhaul, which critics have called a threat to democracy.

Across the government’s term, the court has struck down or delayed several government decisions, including, recently, an interim injunction, pending a final ruling, on the cabinet’s unanimous vote to shutter Army Radio.

Smotrich’s remarks drew widespread criticism from the Judicial Authority, President Isaac Herzog, and opposition lawmakers, who accused him of incitement. But Smotrich doubled down on the comments a day later, prompting Amit to accuse him of crossing a “red line” and to pledge that the far-right leader’s threat “won’t divert me from my path.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, meanwhile, called for Smotrich’s comments “to be put into action,” and urged the government to openly defy rulings by the High Court.

Smotrich and Karhi support the government’s attempts to curtail the powers of the judiciary and have repeatedly attacked the High Court and Amit specifically, often accusing them of undermining democracy when they were at odds with the government’s policies.

Amit is being boycotted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin as part of the judicial overhaul launched in January 2023, soon after the government took office. The overhaul — which critics say is an attempt to break down the system of checks and balances and undermine democracy — sparked massive public protests.

As part of the overhaul, Levin has also been seeking to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, but was blocked by the High Court, which earlier this month voted unanimously to annul the government’s decision to fire her.