Herzog, opposition pan defiant Ohana for excluding top judge and AG from Trump speech

A feud erupted among Israeli officials on Tuesday, as President Isaac Herzog castigated Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana for not inviting the president of the Supreme Court and the attorney general to US President Donald Trump’s Knesset address on Monday, amid a years-long battle between the branches of government.

Ohana then shot back at Herzog defending the decision, prompting opposition lawmakers to join the chorus of outcry. Yair Lapid, the opposition leader, called on Herzog to consider boycotting a future Knesset session.

Trump’s landmark address, the first speech by a US president to the Knesset since 2008, celebrated the US-brokered agreement to end the Gaza war and release the 48 hostages held by terror groups in the Strip. The address was preceded by speeches from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lapid, and Ohana himself, but Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara were not in attendance.

In a rare criticism of a domestic political move, Herzog issued a statement denouncing the decision not to invite the two senior officials.

“The exclusion of the president of the Supreme Court and the attorney general from the Knesset session for the address of the US president is inappropriate and harms the dignity of the state,” the statement said.

“I am very sorry about this incident,” the president added. “It is a blow to the dignity of the state and an inappropriate act — particularly on a day so filled with uplifted spirit and national unity.”

Both figures have been targeted by Netanyahu’s government, which has made an effort to dismiss Baharav-Miara and, in some cases, said it would not heed her decisions due to a long list of decisions she has made against the government’s positions. Justice Minister Yariv Levin refuses to recognize Amit’s authority as chief justice after the Supreme Court forced him to hold a vote on Amit’s appointment. The government has for years pursued a controversial judicial overhaul that would curb the power of the Supreme Court.

Other high-ranking officials, such as State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, were invited.

“This despicable boycott is not only against Chief Justice Amit, a symbol of authority, but rather against the entire judicial branch and in effect Israeli democracy,” Amit Becher, head of the Israel Bar Association, said regarding the snub.

Ohana cited the judicial overhaul, and the court’s response to it, in a statement defending the decision not to invite Amit or Baharav-Miara.

Ohana accused the court of “placing itself above the people” early last year when it struck down a key part of the overhaul. The legislation, passed as a quasi-constitutional Basic Law in 2023, would have abolished the “reasonableness” standard for evaluating government decisions. In January 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the law severely harmed the separation of powers and the principle of the rule of law.

“It is unfortunate that the president of the state expects only one branch of government [the Knesset] to be objective and to act according to the rules, when another branch tramples on it without authority and in contravention of the law,” Ohana said, calling the January 2024 decision “an unprecedented act in the State of Israel that annulled the decision of the majority — and at a time of war.”

“Those who trample the Knesset and its decisions cannot expect an invitation of honor from it,” insisted the parliament speaker.

Levin also fired back at Herzog, reeling off a series of Supreme Court decisions to which he strongly objected and the court’s unanimous ruling urging the government to revoke its dismissal of the attorney general.

“Unity and objectivity are indeed important values. However, coercive and illegal conduct on the part of the judiciary and the systematic trampling of the people’s choice are the opposite of unity and objectivity,” said Levin.

He added: “The days when we bowed our heads in submission are gone and will not return.”

Those statements prompted protest from opposition MKs.

“Yesterday, there were rare moments of nonpartisan behavior and national unity, but already the coalition is returning to quarrels and division,” Lapid said on Tuesday.

“I call on Amir Ohana: Give this nation an opportunity for common good, invite the president of the Supreme Court to the opening ceremony of the Knesset in his official title and position,” he added, calling on Herzog to boycott the event if Ohana fails to do so.

Left-wing The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv said he would submit a formal complaint to the Knesset Ethics Committee over the incident.

“A Knesset speaker who does not recognize the Supreme Court president is not fit for recognition by members of Knesset, and represents a danger to Israeli democracy,” Kariv said. “It is doubtful if there has ever been a Knesset speaker who trampled on the status of the Knesset as has Ohana.”

Kariv also insisted on receiving a list of Likud “apparatchiks” who were invited to the event, accusing Ohana of “filling the [Knesset] visitors’ gallery” with Likud party functionaries “at the expense of the families of hostages.”

Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar wrote a letter to Ohana, telling him the office of the Knesset speaker requires him to act apolitically and on behalf of the entire spectrum of political parties.

“It is not within your authority to boycott senior office-holders from events just because they do not support the policies of the current government. This decision is unbecoming and harms the accepted norms in a democratic state,” she wrote.