Lorenzo Tondo
The Guardian / March 27, 2025
Opposition parties say political control of appointments will make judges subject to politicians and undermine democracy.
Jerusalem – Israel’s parliament has passed a law expanding elected officials’ power to appoint judges, in defiance of a years-long protest against Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to drive through judicial changes.
The approval of the bill, which opposition parties say will make judges subject to the will of politicians, comes as Netanyahu’s government is locked in a standoff with the supreme court over its attempts to dismiss the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara and Ronen Bar, the head of the internal security agency.
Opposition parties, which have filed a petition with the supreme court challenging the vote, said in a joint statement: “This government is undermining the foundations of democracy [for Jews], and the entire opposition will stand as a strong barrier against it until every attempt to turn Israel into a dictatorship is stopped.”
The justice minister, Yariv Levin, who sponsored the bill, said the measure was intended to “restore balance” between the legislative and judicial branches.
Currently judges in Israel, including supreme court justices, are selected by a nine-member committee composed of judges and lawmakers, under the justice minister’s supervision.
The new law, which would come into effect at the start of the next legislative term would increase political control over appointments. The committee would still have nine members: three supreme court judges, the justice minister and another minister, one coalition lawmaker, one opposition lawmaker, and two public representatives – one appointed by the majority and the other by the opposition.
In his closing remarks before the vote, Levin criticised the supreme court, saying it had “effectively nullified the Knesset. “It has taken for itself the authority to cancel laws and even basic laws. This is something unheard of in any democracy in the world,” he said.
In 2023, changes to the judiciary prompted one of the largest protest movements in Israel’s history. With the announcement of the new bill, rallies were once again held in main cities. On Wednesday, thousands of people protested against the bill before it was approved in parliament.
The row came as European far-right leaders flew to Jerusalem for a conference organised by the Israeli government aimed at “combating antisemitism”. The event, which was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list, illustrated a growing alliance between Israel and the European far right.
The supreme court has so far blocked Netanyahu’s attempt to fire Bar. The Shin Bet intelligence chief has been investigating the prime minister’s close aides for alleged breaches of national security, including leaking classified documents to foreign media and allegedly taking money from Qatar, which is known to have given significant financial aid to Hamas.
Netanyahu is also attempting to fire the attorney general after Baharav-Miara told him he could not fire Bar until her office had reviewed his motives for doing so.
In an unprecedented step on Sunday, Netanyahu’s cabinet approved a no confidence motion against Baharav-Miara, its latest move against officials deemed hostile to the government.
Claude Klein, a public law expert at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said enactment of the law would be catastrophic. “They want to take real power. Netanyahu thinks that the supreme court is keeping him from running the country his way,” he told Agence-France Presse.
Last week Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza, shattering the calm of the ceasefire with Hamas. According to the Palestinian health ministry, 855 people have been killed in the renewed assault.
On Thursday Hamas said an Israeli strike hit the tent in the Jabaliya area, where its spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua was living, killing him. Another strike near Gaza City killed four children and their parents, according to the emergency service of the region’s health ministry.
Security sources told Reuters that Egypt, one of the mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, had received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase. The proposal suggests Hamas release five Israeli hostages each week, sources said.
Explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Israel said it had intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen. The long-range missiles were fired by the Houthi rebels and were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, according to the military.
Lorenzo Tondo is a Guardian correspondent
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report
