Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Israel Supreme Court Pushes Back Against Law To Pack Bench With Right-Wing Judges

Israel’s Supreme Court president accused the country’s right-wing justice minister on Wednesday of bringing “a gun to the table” in a dispute over a proposed reform that could make the court more conservative.

In a letter to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Chief Justice Miriam Naor accused her of failing to voice reservations about a bill that would effectively remove the court’s current veto in a committee that selects new justices.

Shaked has said she wants more conservative judges named to the court, whose oversight and occasional reversal of Israeli laws has drawn criticism from her and other right-wingers. The bill by a far-right legislator could help smooth the way since four slots on the 15-member court are due to open next year.

“Proposing the law at this time constitutes, under the circumstances, bringing a gun to the table,” Naor wrote in the letter released to media.

She suggested it was a bid to influence the outcome of the court’s preliminary consultations with Shaked about a list of nominees.

“I can only interpret your silence as an expression of support … for the bill,” she said, announcing she was suspending appointment discussions with the justice minister, a leading figure in the religious-nationalist Jewish Home party.

Under the current law, a successful candidate for the Supreme Court needs support from at least seven of the nine selection committee members. Three of them are court justices who can block an appointment if they vote the same way.

The proposed change would require only a simple majority, effectively enabling government representatives and others on the panel to push through an appointment over the court’s objections.

In a statement, Shaked’s office said she planned to push ahead with regular meetings of the committee – whether the justices turn up or not – and intends to publish a list of candidates for Supreme Court membership soon. Israel Radio reported the nominees would be announced on Sunday.—Reuters

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.