Eleven Supreme Court justices heard live petitions on June 21, 2026, against a Basic Law amendment changing the makeup and voting rules of the Judicial Selection Committee. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara backs the petitioners, arguing the law harms judicial independence, while the Knesset and government say the claims are speculative and should be tested only by the next Knesset.
The amendment, according to the court and the filings, changes the balance in committee appointments. For trial courts, selection would require agreement from one representative each of the judicial, coalition and opposition blocs. For Supreme Court appointments, the new rule would require only a simple majority of five committee members, and the judges' representatives would lose their veto and become observers.
President Isaac Amit told the hearing that the new rules would mean that, every term, judges are chosen only by political actors. Justice Noam Solberg pressed the attorney general’s side, asking whether the reform really meant the state would collapse or democracy would fail, while Justice David Mintz challenged warnings about politicization and said, if the law passes, judges might simply be labeled coalition or opposition picks.
At one point, MK Tali Gottlieb interrupted from the audience and Amit warned he would remove her. Petitioners, including the Movement for Quality Government, argue that the amendment exceeds the Knesset’s constituent authority, destroys the core democratic character of Israel, and was passed through improper use of that authority by transferring almost unlimited power to political branches. The Knesset rejects that claim and says the committee rules do not inflict such a blow on Israel’s democratic core. The attorney general also warns that a new deadlock-breaking mechanism would effectively let each political camp choose Supreme Court justices through political כוח, increasing incentives for gridlock and further politicizing appointments.
