Israel’s judicial reform legislation blitz will reach Supreme Court, chief justice warns

In a rare radio interview with KAN Reshet Bet marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Amit addressed the deepening constitutional crisis surrounding the government’s judicial reform agenda.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit warned on Tuesday that the wave of legislation advanced by the government to reshape Israel’s judicial system is likely to reach the High Court of Justice “sooner or later,” as the institutional standoff between the judiciary and the political branches continues to intensify.

In a rare radio interview with KAN Reshet Bet marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Amit addressed the deepening constitutional crisis surrounding the government’s judicial reform agenda, the justice minister’s refusal to recognize his appointment, and the mounting pressure on the courts amid sustained political attacks on their legitimacy.

“With the storm of legislation being advanced across various areas, it stands to reason that it will arrive at our door at some point, and we will have to address it,” Amit said, declining to comment on specific bills but signaling that the court cannot remain insulated as the reform progresses.

The remarks come amid an unprecedented situation in whichJustice Minister Yariv Levin has declined to recognize Amit as president of the Supreme Court following his selection by the Judicial Selection Committee, and has effectively frozen routine coordination between the political leadership and the judiciary.

The impasse has become one of the central pressure points in the broader struggle over the balance of power between Israel’s branches of government.

Amit says Court will keep operating as usual

Asked how the judiciary can function under such conditions, Amit said the court would continue operating as it always has, stressing its obligation to the public rather than to political actors.

“I view the justice system the same way I view the health system,” he said. “Just as the health system provides essential medical services, the justice system provides a critical service to citizens. That is the only thing before my eyes.”

Amit said he has consistently sought cooperation with the justice minister on matters necessary for the efficient functioning of the courts. “My hand is always extended,” he said. “But the ball is not in my court.”

The interview aired against the backdrop of a dense legal agenda expected to confront the judiciary in the coming months, as the coalition advances legislation affecting judicial review, appointments, and the authority of legal institutions.

Several of those initiatives are widely expected to face petitions to the High Court, further entrenching the judiciary at the center of Israel’s political conflict.

Tensions have also escalated in recent weeks around the attorney-general’s office.Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara recently blocked an attempt by Levin to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Amit, ruling that the move departed from established administrative practices and lacked a sufficient factual basis.

Levin responded with a blistering attack on the attorney-general, accusing her of abusing her authority.

Following Amit’s interview, Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious ZIonist Party) issued a sharp rebuke, accusing the Supreme Court president of exceeding his role and interfering in matters reserved for elected officials.

Rothman said Amit should refrain from involvement in policy issues and focus exclusively on adjudicating cases in accordance with laws passed by the Knesset.

Although Amit made clear that he does not give interviews as a rule, he said he agreed to speak because of the significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The opening portion of the interview focused on his personal background as the son of Holocaust survivors and the experience of growing up in a household where the trauma of the Shoah was omnipresent yet rarely spoken about.

“The Holocaust was always there,” he said. “It was present, but not discussed.”

Amit recounted his father’s survival through multiple labor and concentration camps, including Buchenwald and Płaszów, and his mother’s survival as a hidden child who did not know she was Jewish until she was located after the war by Yeshayahu Drucker, who had tracked and located approximately 600-700 Jewish orphans who had gone into hiding with Christian families.

Asked about contemporary antisemitism, Amit warned that it has taken on new forms. “Today it is often disguised as anti-Zionism or the denial of the Jewish people’s right to a national home,” he said, adding that such sentiments are again on the rise.