Ohana, Levin dismiss Herzog’s criticism over failure to invite top judge, AG to Trump speech

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana fires back at President Isaac Herzog for criticizing the failure to invite the president of the Supreme Court and the attorney general to the Knesset for US President Donald Trump’s speech on Friday.

Ohana accuses the court of “placing itself above the people” for striking down a key piece of legislation in 2024, which the court determined to be highly damaging to the judicial review, and claims the attorney general has failed to deal with incitement against coalition officials.

“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,” retorts Ohana to Herzog.

“For those who have forgotten, the judicial authority put itself above the people and above democracy when it struck down a Basic Law, an unprecedented act in the State of Israel, which annulled the decision of the majority — and at a time of war.

Ohana was referring to legislation abolishing the reasonableness standard for evaluating government decisions, which the Supreme Court ruled in January 2024 severely harmed the separation of powers and the principle of the rule of law.

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

Justice Minister Yariv Levin also hits out at Herzog, reeling off a series of Supreme Court decisions to which he strongly objected, chief among them the court’s decision ruling that he did not have the authority to permanently stymie the election of a new Supreme Court president, as well as the decision to strike down the reasonableness law, and the court’s unanimous skepticism of the way the government fired 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 in response to the president.

“I expect the president of the state and every decent person to stand at the side of the Knesset and the government, and not allow their powers to be trampled on and the people’s choice to be annulled. The days when we bowed our heads in submission – are gone and will not return.”