Lapid calls on Netanyahu to ensure Supreme Court chief is invited to Modi speech to avoid opposition boycott

By Sam Sokol 24 February 2026, 3:24 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid addresses the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, February 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid repeats his call for Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit to be invited to the Knesset for tomorrow’s speech by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning again that otherwise the opposition would boycott the event.

“There are 24 hours left until Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Knesset and the prime minister has not yet done anything to resolve the crisis created by [Knesset Speaker] Amir Ohana in his decision to boycott the High Court and the opposition,” says Lapid.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu, yesterday you said that this is an important moment for the country and that this is not the time for politics, but for a joint stand in the face of challenges. Call Ohana, tell him to invite High Court president Amit, allow us to come to the event that we need to be at and want to be at,” Lapid says.

“Do not lend your hand to harming one of the most important alliances of the State of Israel,” he declares, adding that “the world should see us all united during the visit to Israel of a great friend and ally.”

Amit has been excluded from multiple Knesset events to which he would have traditionally been invited, including speeches by US President Donald Trump and other world leaders, amid a feud between the government and the judiciary.

Following Amit’s election as court president in January 2025, Justice Minister Yariv Levin refused to meet with him or address him as head of the court, or publish his appointment as chief justice in the state gazette as required by law.