Senior coalition ministers double down on refusal to obey High Court ruling: ‘Judicial mafia’

By Ariela Karmel

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7 July 2026, 11:27 am

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Senior coalition ministers double down on the government’s refusal to respect a High Court ruling over a media regulation body, after justices warned that defying the court could lead to anarchy and expose public officials to civil lawsuits.

The court’s warning came after the government declared Sunday that it would not comply with a High Court ruling, raising concerns about a possible constitutional crisis.

“The judicial mafia has moved on to extortion. This is exactly what a threatening message from a protection racket sounds like,” says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, vowing to “deal with them” at the ballot box.

“What’s next? Envelopes with bullets sent to government ministries? A horse’s head in their beds? Bottles of gasoline left on the cars of elected officials?” he continues.

Smotrich was reportedly detained by the Shin Bet security service for three weeks in 2005 on suspicion that he was planning to block major Israeli traffic arteries and damage infrastructure to protest the Gaza disengagement. He was part of a cell of five people who were caught allegedly planning an attack with 700 liters of gasoline. He was released without charge.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and the court of issuing “mafia-style threats.”

“In a democracy, public servants are subordinate to elected officials, in accordance with the law,” Ben Gvir says, adding that “if the High Court judges are unhappy with the government’s policies, they are welcome to run for office. The people alone decide.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, likewise rejects the court’s warning, declaring that “the shofar heralding the government’s and the people of Zion’s freedom from the yoke of the High Court has already been sounded.”