Karhi claims Isaac Amit took over Supreme Court presidency ‘by force’

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi claims that Supreme Court President Isaac Amit illegitimately appointed himself to the post of Supreme Court president. Karhi posted on X hours after Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana caused an uproar by refusing to acknowledge Amit by his title, and referred to him merely as a justice instead.

Karhi, who, like Ohana, is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, declares:

“He who appointed himself by force, in violation of the law, to the Supreme Court presidence is not the president,” writes Karhi, who, like Ohana, is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

He accuses Amit, who was appointed president in January of this year, of having “trampled on the people and the government.”

“Amit is not the president. He is acting in the place of the president, he dreams of being the president, maybe he’s close to being the president — but he was not appointed legally, and therefore he is simply not the president,” insists Karhi.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin fiercly opposed the appointment of Amit, a liberal judge, as president, and sought to intall now-retired Supreme Court judge and staunch conservative Yosef Elron instead, upending the court’s established norms.

Since Levin did not have the votes on the Judicial Selection Committee to elect Elron president, he refused to convene the committee for 16 months, until ordered to do so by the Supreme Court itself, sitting in its capacity as the High Court of Justice.

The court then appointed Amit as its president, leading Levin and a number of other senior government ministers to announce that they do not recognize his authority.