From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Isaac Amit is sworn in as Supreme Court chief; Herzog pans government for boycotting event
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Isaac Amit is sworn in as Supreme Court president at a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
President Isaac Herzog strongly criticizes the government for boycotting the swearing-in ceremony, saying there is “no place” in a democratic country for one branch of government to shun another.
In an unprecedented step, Justice Minister Yariv Levin is boycotting the ceremony, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana are also absent, and not one member of the government is present for the event.
Levin refused to call a vote to appoint a new Supreme Court president for over 15 months, owing to his desire to appoint a conservative justice as president rather than Amit, whom Levin strongly opposed due to his liberal judicial rulings.
Speaking at the ceremony after Amit is sworn in, Herzog criticizes the fact that “the leadership of the executive branch and the legislature” is not present at the ceremony, in reference to Netanyahu, Levin and Ohana.
“In a democratic country, where respect for state institutions is a guiding light, there is no place for boycotts of one branch of government by another; there is no place for turning the law and custom into playing cards in political or public struggles; and there certainly is no place for delegitimizing the president of the Supreme Court who was elected to his position in accordance with the law and the instructions of the law.”
Herzog also states that “change” is “not the enemy of democracy,” in reference to the ongoing efforts of the government to overhaul the judiciary.
“Not every proposal is a catastrophe, not every compromise is a destruction, not every agenda is a hostile and poisonous agenda,” says Herzog about the intense opposition in center-left circles to the government’s efforts.
He also calls on the government and the Knesset to begin “an era of cooperation and dialogue between the branches of government… and the beginning of an era of an extended hand, moderation, and a seeking of broad agreement.”
