The Quiet Clash of Powers

In late October 2026, the High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction freezing the implementation of the Communications Law advanced by Minister Shlomo Karhi, alongside an order nisi requiring the government and the Knesset to explain why the statute should not be struck down (סרוגים, 2026b; כיכר השבת, 2026). The panel, comprising Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and Justices Alex Stein and Yechiel Kasher, referred the case to an expanded bench of nine justices and ordered respondents to file reply affidavits by January 7, 2027 (סרוגים, 2026b; כיכר השבת, 2026). The decision came after the government failed to submit a formal response within granted extensions, and amid Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's position endorsing a freeze due to severe flaws during Knesset enactment (israelhayom.co.il, n.d.-b; המחדש, 2026; EuroMix, 2026). Concurrently, Justice Yael Wilner was chosen as the court's delegate to the Judicial Appointments Committee, replacing Dafna Barak-Erez, while the Supreme Court continues to function with only 11 sitting justices out of an authorized 15 (סרוגים, 2026b; israelhayom.co.il, n.d.-a).

This friction directly continues the institutional crisis that escalated a year earlier over the Supreme Court presidency (התנועה לאיכות השלטון, 2025). In September 2024, the High Court ruled unanimously that Justice Minister Yariv Levin must convene the Judicial Selection Committee (kan.org.il, n.d.-a; N12, 2024), to which Levin responded by nominating all sitting justices, prompting ten of them to withdraw their names (idi.org.il, n.d.-b; calcalist, 2024; kan.org.il, n.d.-b). Following the October 2024 retirement of Acting President Uzi Vogelman (court.gov.il, n.d.; idi.org.il, n.d.-a), the committee convened in January 2025 and chose Isaac Amit as President and Noam Sohlberg as Deputy President, despite a boycott by coalition members. Levin declared the selection unlawful and refused to recognize or interact with Amit, a stance that prompted further petitions and led Court Director Tzachi Ouziel to publish the appointment in the official gazette in June 2026 (kan.org.il, n.d.-a).

The underlying conflict traces back to the 1990s Constitutional Revolution and the Mizrahi ruling, which established the court's authority to invalidate primary legislation violating Basic Laws. Tensions rose sharply following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2019 indictment and the start of his trial in 2020. In January 2023, Levin unveiled a sweeping overhaul aiming to grant the coalition control over judicial appointments, curb judicial review, and eliminate the reasonableness doctrine. In July 2023, the Knesset abolished the use of reasonableness against cabinet decisions, but in January 2024, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment in an 8–7 ruling, with a 12–3 majority affirming judicial review over Basic Laws in exceptional cases.

A significant angle largely absent from daily headlines is the quiet paralysis crippling routine judicial administration (kan.org.il, n.d.-a). Under Israeli law, appointing court presidents, deputies, acting judges, and registrars requires joint agreement between the Justice Minister and the Supreme Court President (kan.org.il, n.d.-a). Levin’s refusal to engage with Amit effectively froze these administrative posts, deepening bench vacancies across lower courts (kan.org.il, n.d.-a). Simultaneously, the High Court’s ruling on the Communications Law established a notable procedural split: the bench decided to rule solely on legislative flaws before addressing substantive disputes over speech and press freedoms (גלובס, 2026a; סרוגים, 2026b). This procedural focus highlights how defects in the lawmaking process itself have become a primary threshold for constitutional scrutiny (סרוגים, 2026b).

Major institutional disputes remain unresolved across the justice system. The nine-justice bench review of the broadcasting statute awaits replies due in January 2027, leaving open whether executive agencies will present substantive legal arguments or maintain passive non-cooperation (israelhayom.co.il, n.d.-b; סרוגים, 2026b; כיכר השבת, 2026). Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's four empty seats out of 15 remain vacant as long as the Judicial Selection Committee remains stalemated (israelhayom.co.il, n.d.-a; התנועה לאיכות השלטון, 2025). Whether pending appointments in lower and higher courts will be resolved under the current framework remains uncertain, with continued political efforts to modify selection laws hovering over the judicial branch (התנועה לאיכות השלטון, 2025).