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Israel’s rightwing government has passed a contentious law to allow politicians greater sway in judicial appointments, at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption and clashing with high court judges.
Opposition leader Benny Gantz said the law — which will not take effect until after the next election — would sharply reduce judicial independence and bring Israel “to the brink of civil war”.
Netanyahu pitched the bill as an assault on “the rule of bureaucrats”, and of the “deep state”, echoing the language of his political ally US President Donald Trump.
The law is intended to wrench power from “a small group of bureaucrats who fight to preserve the levers of power and authority in the country”, Netanyahu said. “In democracy, the people are sovereign.”
The Israeli media described the results of the fiery all-night debate as “Netanyahu’s judicial coup”, and said it was the first time in Israel’s 76-year history that politicians would control the appointment of judges.
The move was part of wide-ranging judicial reforms pushed by Netanyahu’s government for two years, which triggered widespread protests and were halted by Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack.
The opposition vowed to overturn the law if it won the next election, which is expected in late 2026.
“The government of Israel has just approved a law with one goal — to ensure that judges become subject to the will of politicians,” opposition leaders said in a joint statement. “In the next government, we will ensure that the law is repealed, restoring the selection of judges to a fair and professional committee.”
With its delayed introduction and complicated structure, the law is seen more as show of strength — and future intent — by Netanyahu’s rightwing coalition, than a wholesale overhaul of Israel’s judicial appointment process.
Alongside other smaller changes, the law will shuffle the members of the nine-person Judicial Selection Committee and give veto power to government and opposition appointees, injecting politics into a process that until now was run by professionals, including the Bar Association.
Netanyahu and his allies, who have been battling the courts and legal system for years, are planning more reforms, but those are far from becoming law.
Netanyahu has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis in recent weeks by trying to fire domestic intelligence chief Ronen Bar, who has been investigating allegations that officials in the prime minister’s inner circle had financial dealings with Qatar. Netanyahu’s office has called the accusations “fake news”.
The premier has also begun the process of firing the attorney-general, starting with a vote of no confidence against Gali Baharav-Miara, who was appointed in 2021 by a previous centre-right government.
At the same time, his trial for corruption, which he spent years painting as a witch-hunt driven by liberal prosecutors and judges, is continuing.
Netanyahu’s coalition, which has been buoyed in recent weeks by the return of the far-right Jewish Power party, passed the bill on judicial appointments with ease, undeterred by some 71,000 opposition amendments and protests outside parliament.
The brief period of national unity brought on by the October 7 attack has given way to large protests over Netanyahu renewing attacks on Gaza and abandoning a ceasefire with Hamas — leaving Israeli hostages still held captive by the militant group — and the return of judicial reforms.
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