Justice Minister Yariv Levin said that he did not recognize newly appointed permanent Chief Justice Isaac Amit in a statement on Sunday.
“I hereby state unequivocally that I do not recognize Justice Isaac Amit as the President of the Supreme Court, and the procedures through which he was ‘elected’ are fundamentally flawed and illegal,” he wrote.
Levin went on to say in a separate statement that Amit’s appointment happened amidst many allegations about his behavior in various cases that the justice minister believes were not correctly investigated.
The allegations against Amit included unreported court proceedings by the Tel Aviv Municipality against owners of a building in Tel Aviv, which included Amit and his brother; a series of cases that Amit oversaw that involved First International Bank of Israel and Dor Alon, even though his brother was involved in these companies at different points; alleged building infractions in Amit’s home in Mevaseret Zion; and a ruling regarding boards of directors of government companies that allegedly could have affected his brother.
Levin said that other senior officials had been removed from the pool of candidates for far less and called the appointment a “moral disgrace” that “reeks of selective enforcement” in the government.
‘A sad day for the judicial system’
“This is a sad day for democracy and a sad day for our judicial system. A President ‘elected’ in such a manner cannot earn the public trust, which is essential for the judiciary to function,” he said in a Sunday statement with Minister of Settlement and National Missions Orit Strock and MK Yitzhak Kroizer. The three boycotted the Judicial Selection Committee meeting on Sunday.
Levin also wrote that the judicial process to elect Amit stripped him of his power as Justice minister and “turned the Judicial Selection Committee into a rubber stamp for the Supreme Court.”
“Never before has a Supreme Court President—whose core mission is to enhance public trust in the judiciary—been elected through such a fundamentally flawed process, damaging the remnants of trust that still remain, as has been the case over recent months, and especially today,” Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana wrote in a Sunday statement.
“I would have wished the elected President success had he been chosen through a legitimate process and had I believed that he would work to restore public trust in the judicial system. I fear this is far from the case.”
אני מברך את השופט יצחק עמית על בחירתו לתפקיד נשיא בית המשפט העליון. במשך עשרות שנים ובערכאות שונות תרם השופט עמית רבות למערכת המשפט הישראלית ואני סמוך ובטוח כי לכישוריו הרבים וניסיונו העשיר יהיה חלק משמעותי בהובלת בית המשפט העליון והרשות השופטת באחריות, שיקול דעת ומסירות לטובת…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) January 26, 2025
Leave it in the past?
In contrast, other Israeli leaders and organizations congratulated the new chief justice on his permanent appointment to the highest court in the nation.
President Isaac Herzog noted Amit’s lengthy career in the Israeli judicial system.
“I am confident that his numerous skills and extensive experience will play a pivotal role in leading the Supreme Court and the judiciary with responsibility, discretion, and dedication for the benefit of the State of Israel, as well as in the very important task of enhancing public trust in the judicial system,” the president wrote on X/Twitter, adding that he believes it is time to leave the discord in the court behind.
“I believe that now is the time to move forward and put behind us the debate that has taken place in recent weeks over the process of electing the Supreme Court President. We must look ahead, lower the flames of discord, and strive to reach understandings as much as possible.”
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said that with Amit’s appointment, the Judicial Selection Committee had fulfilled its duty, proving that the “judicial system cannot be bent to the will of others.”
“After a year and a half of procrastination and evasion, the Minister of Justice failed in all his attempts to harm the judicial system – failed on the reasonableness clause, failed on the unfit for office clause, failed on override clause, failed in the takeover of the judicial appointments committee, and now he also failed in preventing the appointment of the Supreme Court president,” the organization’s chair, Dr. Eliad Sharga, wrote in the Sunday statement. “After five utter failures, it is time for the minister of justice to vacate his seat and go home. Those who disregard the rule of law and refuse to abide by Supreme Court rulings are not fit to serve as minister of justice.”
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
Jesus Christ is King
