Supreme Court chief: Study shows attacks on judiciary ‘not consistent with reality’

Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit says that the frequent attacks on the court and the judiciary in general, amid claims the judiciary faces a lack of public trust “are not consistent with reality,” in light of a recent Israel Democracy Institute annual Democracy Index survey showing that public trust in the Supreme Court is higher than in either the Knesset and the government.

The index shows that the Supreme Court, as representative of the judiciary, is rated the highest of all the branches of government, enjoying the trust of 39.5% of the public, compared to the government at 25% and the Knesset at just 16%.

Numerous ministers in the current government have repeatedly attacked the Supreme Court as going against “the will of the people.” Justice Minister Yariv Levin has been engaged in a two-year fight with the judiciary and last week said he would revive his judicial overhaul agenda to radically limit the authority of the judiciary.

Amit says the attacks are “a deliberate attempt to undermine public trust in the judiciary” and are “inconsistent with reality and do not align with the findings of the index,” following publication of the IDI’s annual study.

“The independence, professionalism, and apolitical character of the Judicial Authority are critical and necessary components for it to ensure public trust in it,” Amit adds, in an allusion to Levin’s efforts to assert greater government control over it.

According to IDI data from the last decade, trust in the Knesset and the government among the Jewish population is at almost record lows, although it has recovered in the last six months from absolute nadirs of 13% and 19% public trust, respectively, in May this year.

Trust in the Supreme Court has remained somewhat more stable but has also declined steadily over the last decade.