Smotrich attacks Supreme Court over review of judicial selection law

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich launched a sharp attack on the judges of Israel’s Supreme Court, calling them "Yitzhak Amit and his group." In a video posted from the balcony of the Finance Ministry, with the Knesset visible behind him, he denounced the court hearing now under way on petitions seeking to strike down the Basic Law: Judiciary amendment that changed how judges are selected.

Smotrich said that "11 detached people in black robes" were sitting nearby and believed they could invalidate a Basic Law passed by the Knesset. He argued that the amendment changed the method for choosing judges and their colleagues on the Judicial Selection Committee, and that the legislature had enacted it legally. "Democracy belongs to the people, they are sovereign," he said.

He told the Supreme Court justices, "Do not dare," and said he would not "normalize this abomination" under any circumstances. Smotrich insisted that the court has no authority to cancel Basic Laws passed by the Knesset and urged the justices to "remove your hands from Israeli democracy."

If the judges want to influence how judges are appointed, he said, they should take off their robes, found a political party, run for the Knesset and earn public trust first. Until then, he repeated, the state belongs to the people and the court must not "destroy Israeli democracy."