Israel in ‘democratic retreat,’ says former acting Supreme Court president

Former acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman says that Israel is in “democratic retreat,” and that the judiciary is being delegitimized by politicians on an almost daily basis.

In comments obtained by Haaretz, Vogelman also decries the effort last week by pro-government demonstrators to break into a High Court of Justice hearing, and says that the government’s efforts to “dismantle” the Knesset legal advisory system were aimed at removing checks and balances on government power.

“The delegitimization is being done almost on a daily basis,” says Vogelman, who served on the Supreme Court from 2009 to 2024, including as deputy president and then acting president.

“The public is being fed messages made by politicians and various public figures,” continues the retired justice, in apparent reference to the ferocious criticism of the judiciary and the Supreme Court in particular by coalition politicians and right-wing media.

Vogelman’s comments are made in an episode of the Talking Law podcast of Tel Aviv University set to be broadcast next week.

He says that Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s boycott of current Supreme Court President Isaac Amit is another aspect of the government’s delegitimization efforts against the judiciary, as well as its controversial legislation politicizing the judicial selection process.