Twelve of the 15 Israeli Supreme Court judges ruled their court has the authority to stop legislation proposed by the Knesset, Israel’s unicameral legislature. The court voted 8-7 to overturn the legislation that would have weakened their judicial powers and prevented them from intervening on proposed legislation.
Israeli journalist Barak Ravid told CBS news that many Israelis did not support the legislation: “Many people believe the government wants to weaken the Supreme Court in order to pass laws that will make it impossible for Arab politicians to run in Israeli elections.”
The Likud political party stated, “It is unfortunate that the supreme court chose to bring a ruling at the heart of the social dispute in Israel precisely when IDF soldiers on the right and the left are fighting and risking their lives in the campaign.”
Yesh Atid politician and Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said the court’s decision “ends a difficult year of conflict that tore us apart from within and led to the worst disaster in our history.”
The Knesset passed the legislation in July that would have prevented the Supreme Court from intervening and stopping legislation they determined to be “unreasonable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud political party looked to give elected politicians power over the courts, and also planned on passing additional legislation that would allow lawmakers to appoint judges without the court’s oversight.
