Justice Minister Levin calls for renewal of judicial reform legislation at Cabinet meeting Sunday

Opposition leader Lapid: Coalition trying to renew the conflict which led to Oct 7

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During the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Justice Minister Yariv Levin expressed support for the renewal of the judicial reform legislation he initiated last year, which has been on hold since the start of the war in Gaza.

At the same time, Levin said he would seek an agreement with the opposition beforehand.

According to KAN 11 News, Levin's plan to reintroduce the judicial reform is scheduled for the upcoming Israeli Knesset (Parliament) winter session, scheduled to begin at the end of October.

Levin reiterated his claim that the reforms are necessary, telling the Cabinet, “The attorney general draws power from the Supreme Court. The key is to change the Supreme Court.”

“The time has come for us to decide whether to pursue this with all of our strength,” KAN quoted Levin as saying. “It’s time to make the necessary change in the judicial system.”

During the meeting, some ministers demanded that a bill to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee be put to a vote. The bill had already been approved after a second and third reading last year but was halted following the start of the war.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich asked why the bill was delayed: "You have a plenum on August 14, bring the law to change the method of selecting Supreme Court justices - we will support it.”

Smotrich also said, “You have a bill ready for second and third reading.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has frequently been criticized by the coalition.

On Sunday, the government approved a measure that would enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to directly nominate the next civil service commissioner, bypassing the need for a search committee. Baharav-Miara opposed the decision.

“Bring the dismissal of the attorney general - we will support it,” Ben Gvir is reported to have said.

Levin, who sat in for Netanyahu during the meeting, responded, “Once we deal with the High Court of Justice, there will be no need to fire the attorney general. We need to be united in this.”

Levin also said he would be looking to garner support from the opposition, but emphasized that uniting the coalition was the first priority.

“There are four, five people in the coalition who need to be mobilized to pass this, and then it will also be possible to start talking to the opposition and try to reach agreements,” Levin remarked.

The Judicial Reform legislation in 2023 led to significant protests across the nation of Israel, including calls for reserve soldiers not to report for military duty. Both critics and supporters of the reforms believe such division within Israel may have encouraged Hamas’ decision to launch the Oct. 7 invasion and terror attacks.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid echoed this sentiment in a statement released after the Cabinet meeting, criticizing Levin’s “calls to bring back the judicial coup in full strength, alongside the government’s predatory moves, and the calls to fire the attorney general, are an unfathomable display of detachment from the citizens of Israel.”

Lapid said coalition members “haven’t learned anything. The first time, the coup weakened Israeli society, and then came October 7.”

“Instead of taking care of the abandoned north, or the residents of the south who can’t return home, or a deal for the hostages who are dying in Hamas’s tunnels, they’re busy trampling over the rule of law.”