Israeli Ministers Decide to Boycott Supreme Court Hearings on Controversial Laws

Following a closed-door meeting at the end of the accelerated legislative session, a small forum of senior Israeli officials, including Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, and Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs, agreed not to appear at Supreme Court hearings challenging the new laws on arrests and media regulation. The group concluded that the chances of these laws surviving judicial review were negligible, and thus chose to avoid legitimizing the court proceedings by their presence. This strategy, fully supported by Deri, aims to emphasize the conflict with the Supreme Court through the legal challenges.

The forum has yet to decide whether to also boycott the upcoming hearing on the Basic Law concerning Torah study. While Justice Minister Levin opposes appearing in principle, the government prefers to let the ultra-Orthodox parties decide independently. This decision follows the Supreme Court's interim injunction freezing the law canceling arrests of draft dodgers. During that hearing, the government refrained from legal representation but sent a letter from Fuchs arguing against judicial intervention, stating, "The state needs ultra-Orthodox recruits, not ultra-Orthodox detainees."