On 4 January 2023 the newly appointed Israeli justice minister Yariv Levin announced his intention to make a number of major changes to the judicial system and the balance of powers in Israel. On 11 January, Levin published a draft of his proposed changes, which included significant changes to the judiciary, executive and legislative processes and functions. The government's proposed reform has sparked intense controversy in Israel. Opposition leaders, senior past civil servants, economists, activists, jurists, and others have harshly criticized the proposed changes, arguing they will undermine judicial independence and effectively grant the government unchecked power. The opponents to the reform include reservists in Israel's security forces, with some stating they will stop conducting reserve duty service if the proposed reform is progressed through as legislation. They also include members of Israel's financial and tech sectors. Large-scale street protests against the reform began shortly after its introduction and took place until 7 October, when the Gaza war began.
The reform has received support from some academics, with 120 professors and retired politicians expressing their support. It has received support from religious Zionist rabbis, as well as members of the political right, who have staged counter-protests in response to opposition demonstrations. The reform has also triggered international reactions, with U.S. president Joe Biden and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock expressing concern over the reform and its adoption process.
Opinion polls According to a poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute on 4 January 2023 "only 16 percent of Israelis ... said that they believed that the number of politicians on the Judicial Selection Committee should be increased, while 19 percent said that the current composition of the body was appropriate and a full quarter supported increasing the number of justices. A further 10 percent supported increasing the number of Bar Association representatives."
A survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on 15 January 2023 "found that most Israelis, (55.6%), support the Supreme Court having the ability to strike down laws passed by the Knesset parliament if they contradict principles of democracy".
The Israel Democracy Institute's Israeli Voice Index published on 3 February 2023 showed that "The share of those who think that the reform to the justice system proposed by Minister of Justice Levin is quite bad or very bad (43%) is larger than that of those who think it is quite good or very good (31%)."
A poll commissioned by the Jewish People Policy Institute and published on 7 February 2023 revealed that "While 84% of Israelis believe the judicial system is in need of any change, only 22% support every change proposed in the reform." The same poll found 60% of respondents across all backgrounds and from across the political spectrum believed the judicial reforms "would lead to violence" between the two conflicting camps.
A Channel 12 poll published on 10 February 2023 "indicated that over 60 percent of the public wants the government to halt or delay its legislative efforts to dramatically weaken the High Court of Justice and secure political control over judicial appointments".
A poll carried out by IDI's Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research and published on 21 February 2023 found that only a quarter of respondent supported the proposed changes, and slightly over half of respondents felt the judicial reforms would harm Israel's economy. Further details of responses include:
63% think the Supreme Court should have the power to strike down a law if it is incompatible with the Basic Laws. 60% think that the current balance in the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee should be maintained. 58% oppose modifying the current method by which Ministry Legal Advisors are appointed. 67% agreed there should be compromise negotiations between the conflicting parties to create consensus.
A poll taken on 15–16 March 2023 by Maariv, asking for views on the compromise proposal presented by President Herzog on 15 March, found that 42% of respondents supported the proposal, 34% opposed it, and 24% did not express an opinion.
Two opinion polls carried out on 27 March 2023, a poll for Channel 12 by Manu Geva and a poll for public broadcaster Kan by Kantar, yielded similar results. Channel 12's survey showed that 63% of respondents support a pause in the judicial reform legislation, compared to 24% who oppose a pause. Kan's poll showed 62% of the public supporting a pause, and 22% opposing it. Having secured 64 of the 120 Knesset seats in the November 2022 election, the governing coalition would now get 54 seats according to the Channel 12 poll and 53 seats according to the Kan poll. The Channel 12 poll also found that 63% of respondents opposed Netanyahu's decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over his call for a pause in the legislation.
The controversy surrounding the reform has resulted in support for the incumbent government taking a large hit in opinion polls, with every poll conducted since late March 2023 predicting the governing coalition would lose its majority if a new election was held.
Intervention by the President of Israel On 12 February 2023, the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, gave a special address to the nation, stating that "the totality of the parts of the reform in its current form raise deep concerns about their potential negative impact on the democratic foundations of the State of Israel". He said that the courts "safeguard society and the state" against crime and international prosecution of IDF soldiers, but also against the loss of "the fundamentals of justice, law and morality". The President called for the legislative process regarding the judicial reforms to be halted, to arrive at a compromise based on a five-point plan presented during his speech.
While the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, reacted positively to Herzog's speech, others referred to it as a "surrendering proposal". Nides tweeted straight after Herzog's speech, "Great speech tonight by a great leader". Some politicians from the ruling coalition delegitimized Herzog's and Nides "intervention" in political debate. On the other hand, prominent protesters and publicists referred to Herzog's speech as a "surrendering proposal", and claimed that democracy and human liberty are "not a matter of compromise". These critics emphasized that Herzog's proposal essentially keeps parliament's power to override the court's decisions, and that the current state of affairs is much more balanced.
In a televised address on 9 March 2023, President Herzog described the current crisis as "a national nightmare" and called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately to halt the legislative process. He said that "The legislation, as it is now ... is misguided, brutal and undermines our democratic foundations". Herzog added that "Israel's democracy is the highest value. An independent judiciary is the highest value. Protecting human rights – of men and women, and minorities and maintaining the unique and rich Israeli mosaic – is the highest value."
On 15 March, President Herzog presented a compromise proposal as an alternative to the government's planned changes to the judicial system. The proposal suggests that:
The 'reasonableness' standard – which allows the High Court to override government decisions it deems 'unreasonable' – would not be applicable to government decisions and ministerial appointments. The Supreme Court would not intervene in Basic Laws. Its intervention in regular laws would require a quorum of 11 judges and a two-thirds majority. The Judicial Appointments Committee would be composed of 11 members including three Supreme Court justices, three cabinet ministers, three Knesset members (a coalition member and two opposition members) and two representatives of the public. Agreement of seven members would be needed for the appointment of Supreme Court justices.
Partial backtracking by individuals and organizations promoting the changes
Partial backtracking by the Kohelet Policy Forum Many of the arguments supporting the proposed changes to the legal system are based on papers published by the Kohelet Policy Forum (see citations in ). Nevertheless, some prominent members of that forum have criticised important aspects of the legislation.
While defending most of the changes the government is seeking to make to the judicial system, Moshe Koppel, the head of the Kohelet Policy Forum, whose work forms the basis of many of those changes, drew the line at the override clause, stating: "that should scare you. Most laws are not crazy, but every now and then there is a crazy law, and the same 61 people who voted for the crazy law ... can then override the Supreme Court decision, and therefore, this is worrisome. This override is a dumb idea."
Moshe Koppel said subsequently that his organization had advised Justice Minister Levin that "the override is completely idiotic". He blamed the override clause on the Haredi parties, saying that "They want it because they have certain specific issues that they are concerned that the Supreme Court will strike down. The draft exemption is one. Also, gender separation."
Kohelet has removed position papers from its website, including proposals promoting the override clause, without announcing such deletions publicly.
Michael Sarel, head of economics at Kohelet Policy Forum, has written that while he agrees that there are problems with the judicial system which need fixing, he does not support the government's current proposals. His open letter states that "The separation of powers is one of the most important, most influential and most successful ideas in human history. The proposed reform will create a situation in which there will be no separation of powers, in that it subordinates the legal system to the will of the coalition. This proposal could be reasonable, and even very desirable, but only when at the same time there exists a powerful and independent court. Under the proposed reform, however, that will not be the situation." Sarel wrote that the planned reform gives almost unlimited power to a governing coalition, and that this is likely to lead to interference with the electoral process, for example by disqualifying parties and candidates and suppressing the media. "When there is no separation of powers and the coalition has almost unlimited power, it is reasonable to suppose that it will want to use that power to raise its chances of political survival." He argued that "the temptation to take measures that will increase the chances of the parties making up the coalition to succeed in the next elections will be very strong and will be difficult to resist." Sarel added that "A democratic system in which ... there is no proper separation of powers will find it hard to survive for long as a democracy. It is no coincidence that the saying 'all power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely' has become a truism of political science."
In an interview with Haaretz, Professor Gideon Sapir of the Kohelet Policy Forum said: "I think that changes need to be made in regard to the judicial system in Israel. But those changes need to be moderate ones. They need to be made attentively and by agreement." Sapir explained that he is one of the founders of the Kohelet Policy Forum, where he is the head of the Ph.D. program, but that he is not involved in the reform initiative.
Partial backtracking by Justice Minister Yariv Levin