Courts and the judicial overhaul
Why Israel's fight over its Supreme Court is about who checks a governing majority, what Israelis think of it, and where each list stands.
- Curb the Supreme Court's powersLikudReligious Zionism–ZehutOtzma YehuditShasUTJPeople of IsraelBlue and WhiteNoam54.6
- Allow a limited overrideReservists–Economic4.1
- Write the rules into Basic LawsYashar!B'YachadYisrael Beiteinu39.8
- Keep the courts independentThe DemocratsJoint ListRa'am21.5
Answers in order from one end of the debate to the other. Seats are the current polling average; the tick is 61. Each list's own words and sources.
Facts checked October 5, 2026. Every number shows its source and date.
What is at stake
Israel has no single written constitution. In 1950 the Knesset chose to write separate "Basic Laws" instead (Knesset), and many can be passed or changed by a simple majority. The Knesset is the only legislature, with no second chamber (Knesset). "In Israel, the Supreme Court is the only restraint on the power of the political majority," the Israel Democracy Institute wrote in 2022 (IDI). In 1995 the court held that the Basic Laws have constitutional status and that it may void ordinary laws that infringe them; Supreme Court President Aharon Barak wrote that "the constitutional revolution occurred in the Knesset in March 1992" (ruling, Nov 9, 1995).
In January 2023 Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced a judicial overhaul: bar courts from voiding decisions as "unreasonable"; give the government a majority on the committee that picks judges; curb judicial review; let 61 Knesset members re-enact a struck-down law; and stop legal advisers' positions from binding ministries (Times of Israel, Jan 4, 2023).
On March 23, 2023 a bare Knesset majority amended a Basic Law so that the court cannot order a prime minister to take a leave of absence; removal requires physical or mental incapacity and 75% of ministers or Knesset members (JTA, Mar 23, 2023). On July 24, 2023 the Knesset abolished the reasonableness standard (Globes). On January 1, 2024 a full 15-justice panel struck that law down 8–7, and 12 of the 15 held that the court may review Basic Laws in exceptional cases (ruling; NPR). On January 3 it ruled 6–5 that the incapacity law was "clearly a personal amendment" and delayed it to the next Knesset (Times of Israel).
Protests and the security services
In 2023 hundreds of thousands protested weekly, and more than 10,000 veterans pledged to boycott reserve duty (JTA, July 24, 2023). After Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who had urged a pause, a general strike backed by the Histadrut labor federation shut universities on March 27, and Netanyahu paused the bills that evening (JTA, Mar 27, 2023; JTA). On April 27 an estimated 200,000 supporters rallied in Jerusalem (JTA).
Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen said a refusal leader's views "seriously harmed the cohesion and security of the country, and were a catalyst for the events of October 7" (Times of Israel, Dec 2, 2024). On October 7, the Times of Israel reported, the army had "an unprecedented 120% turnout rate for reservists" (Times of Israel, July 19, 2026).
On March 21, 2025 the cabinet fired Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who then announced his resignation. On May 21 the court ruled 2–1 that the firing was improper and made while Netanyahu had a conflict of interest, but issued no orders since the case was moot. Netanyahu called the ruling "disgraceful" (Times of Israel, May 21, 2025).
The next bench
In March 2025 the Knesset passed, 67 votes in favor, a law that removes the Israel Bar Association's two seats from the selection committee and lets justices be appointed without the sitting justices' consent, from the next Knesset on (Times of Israel, Mar 27, 2025). The Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, heard petitions against it on June 21, 2026; the Times of Israel counted nine of the 11 justices as critical of parts of it (Times of Israel). No ruling had been found as of October 5. Four of 15 seats are vacant and six more justices turn 70, the retirement age, within three years (JTA, Sept 18, 2026), so the next government could fill about two-thirds of the bench.
Supporters argue that unelected judges overrule voters. Levin promised that judges would no longer "choose themselves in back rooms with no protocol" (Times of Israel, Jan 4, 2023). Religious Zionism wants narrower rules on who may petition the court (Ynet, Sept 22, 2026). Conservative critics, IDI scholars write, hold that value judgments "should be decided by democratically elected representatives and not unaccountable judges" (IDI, Feb 2023). The Kohelet Policy Forum, "a non-partisan research and action institute" by its own description, argues that "governmental legal counsel must be subordinate to appointed Ministers" (Kohelet, July 16, 2026).
We go to the polls, vote, elect, and time after time, people we didn't elect choose for us. Many sectors of the public look to the judicial system and do not find their voices heard. That is not democracy.
We'll wait for the next term, when two-thirds of the Supreme Court justices' seats become vacant. I told them (the Supreme Court justices): I won't need to carry out a reform. You'll simply go extinct.
The government voted on August 4, 2025 to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara (Times of Israel); on December 14 seven justices, conservatives included, unanimously annulled the firing (Times of Israel). A law passed July 15, 2026, 65–51, lets the government reject the attorney general's opinions and control the post's appointment and dismissal; prosecution, including whether to investigate senior elected officials, stays with the attorney general. It takes effect in January 2027 (Times of Israel). A dropped June draft would have let a new prosecutor general "reconsider the existing indictments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" (Jerusalem Post, June 2, 2026).
Netanyahu's trial
Netanyahu has been on trial since May 2020: for fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 (gifts from benefactors) and Case 2000 (alleged talks for favorable newspaper coverage), and also bribery in Case 4000 (regulatory decisions alleged to have benefited Bezeq shareholder Shaul Elovitch in exchange for favorable Walla coverage). He denies wrongdoing. On June 29, 2026 the judges again urged prosecutors to drop the bribery charge (Times of Israel). Ending his testimony on June 24, he called the case "a political assassination"; defense witnesses remain (Times of Israel). Supporters echo "his contention that the charges amount to a political witch hunt" (Times of Israel, June 30). Watchdog groups argued the overhaul could affect his trial (Times of Israel, Jan 3, 2024).
In November 2025 he asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, without admitting guilt. On April 26, 2026 Herzog set it aside and proposed plea talks (Times of Israel); as of June 30 his lawyers had not responded (Times of Israel, June 30).
The court and this election
On September 23, 2026 the Central Elections Committee voted 18–5 to disqualify the Joint List and 18–5 to disqualify Ra'am, on petitions from Likud, Otzma Yehudit and others citing Basic Law: The Knesset's bar on supporting armed struggle against Israel. The attorney general saw grounds only against Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh, over an October 8, 2023 article calling the Hamas assault "an important historic event"; the Joint List accused backers of the bans of "deepening racism" (Times of Israel). The law also bars incitement to racism and denying Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state; bans need Supreme Court approval, and the committee is almost all party lawmakers. On October 2 nine justices unanimously reinstated both lists, and Abu Shehadeh withdrew after the court's president told him a majority would bar him (Times of Israel, Oct 2, 2026). See Palestinian citizens of Israel.
What Israelis think
In each of three IDI surveys since 2023, more Israelis opposed the overhaul or its timing than backed it. In March 2026, 52% said it was not correct to advance it now and 32% said it was (IDI, March 2026). The wording changed between surveys, so the chart shows each separately.
March 2026 wording: "Is it correct or not correct at this time to advance the judicial overhaul initiated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin?"
| Survey | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| January 2023: is the Levin plan good or bad?IDI, Israeli Voice Index, Jan 23–26, 2023 | 31% good | 43% bad |
| January 2025: support or oppose the overhaul?IDI, Dec 31, 2024–Jan 6, 2025 | 36.5% support | 55% oppose |
| March 2026: correct at this time to advance it?IDI, Israeli Voice Index, Mar 22–26, 2026 | 32% correct | 52% not correct |
Strongest shade: 60%. Source: Israel Democracy Institute, January 2023 – March 2026, Jewish and Arab adults: 718 (Jan 2023), 1,202 (Jan 2025), 756 (Mar 2026). Three separate surveys with different questions; each row has its own source and date. Read them side by side, not as one trend line. The rest answered that they had no opinion or did not know.
It ranks low as a vote factor: 18% of Jewish respondents named the judicial system as a first or second factor, behind security (39%), the economy (38%), the draft (27%), religion and state (26%) and the party leader (23%) (IDI, Sept 2026).
Jewish trust in the Supreme Court fell mostly before the overhaul: from 69% in 2003 to 41% in 2022, and 42% in May 2025 (IDI Democracy Index 2025). The 2026 index is not out.
Trust in the Supreme Court: share answering "very much" or "quite a lot"
The numbers: Trust in the Supreme Court, 2003–2025
| Year | Jews | Palestinian citizens of Israel |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 69% | 76% |
| 2008 | 50% | 35% |
| 2012 | 72% | 78% |
| 2016 | 57% | 52% |
| 2019 | 55% | 56% |
| 2021 | 48% | 44% |
| 2022 | 41% | 40% |
| June 2023 | 42% | 26% |
| 2024 | 39% | 26% |
| 2025 | 42% | 40% |
Source: Israel Democracy Institute, Israeli Democracy Index 2025 (Appendix 2), May 2025. Selected years from IDI's annual series. Annual Democracy Index surveys, fieldwork usually in May; the 2025 survey is the latest (the 2026 index is expected in December). IDI's own label is "Arabs", and its Arab sample includes Druze; that sample is small (about ±5.1%) and swings widely from year to year. IDI also published a December 2023 reading from a different survey, the Israeli Voice Index; it is not part of this series and is not shown.
In May 2025, 83% of left-wing Jews trusted the court against 21.5% on the right, and 66% of secular Jews against 3% of Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) (same source). IDI's reading is that "political identity outweighs religiosity."
Trust in the Supreme Court: share answering "very much" or "quite a lot", Jewish respondents
202320242025
- Left
- Center
- Right
- Haredi
- National religious
- Traditional religious
- Traditional non-religious
- Secular
The numbers: Trust in the Supreme Court among Jews, by group
| Group | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | 80% | 80% | 83% |
| Center | 63% | 60% | 68% |
| Right | 26% | 21% | 21.5% |
| Haredi | 11% | 7% | 3% |
| National religious | 16% | 15% | 19% |
| Traditional religious | 24% | 22% | 21% |
| Traditional non-religious | 36% | 40% | 40% |
| Secular | 66.5% | 58.5% | 66% |
Source: Israel Democracy Institute, Israeli Democracy Index 2025 (Table 2.6, Figure 2.7) and 2024 (Table 2.11), June 2023, 2024, May 2025. Annual Democracy Index surveys; the 2023 column is the June 2023 survey. Political camp is self-identified. The 2023 and 2024 camp figures are from the 2024 index (idi.org.il). December 2023 readings from the separate Israeli Voice Index are not shown. No 2026 breakdown by group has been published.
In January 2025, 79% of Arab respondents opposed the overhaul, against 50.5% of Jews (IDI, Jan 2025). Yet in May 2025, 55.5% of them said the court "intervenes too much," against 50% of Jews (Democracy Index 2025). IDI's "Arabs" include Druze.
What the parties say
Coalition parties that answered Ynet's September 2026 survey want to curb the court; Likud declined to answer. Zehut, Moshe Feiglin's party, says the court "has accumulated powers that were never explicitly granted by legislation" (Ynet, Sept 22, 2026). Yashar!, B'Yachad and the Reservists want a Basic Law setting rules for legislation or judicial review; Yisrael Beiteinu wants a written constitution put to a referendum; Blue and White would limit the court's intervention in government decisions.
Should power shift from the courts to the Knesset and government?
Curb the Supreme Court's powers54.6 seats
Likud22.1 seats
Declined to answer Ynet's questions, saying the party "does not participate in questionnaires." On the record: Justice Minister Yariv Levin's law removing the Israel Bar Association's two seats on the judicial selection committee and giving the coalition and the opposition a veto over Supreme Court appointments passed 67 to 1 on Mar 27, 2025, with the opposition boycotting the vote.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026; Times of Israel, Mar 27, 2025, Mar 27, 2025. On the record, because the party did not answer the questionnaire
Religious Zionism–Zehut5.7 seats
The Supreme Court's president and deputy president chosen by a secret ballot of judges; split the attorney general's role into legal adviser and chief prosecutor; public hearings for nominees; a 61-vote override; limits on interim orders and on who may petition; laws struck down only by an expanded bench and a special majority. Zehut, Feiglin's party on the joint list, would abolish the selection committee and have voters elect justices directly.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Otzma Yehudit7.4 seats
Told Ynet it was still preparing a detailed judicial platform. On the record: the Jerusalem Post reports that Ben-Gvir supported the 2023 overhaul and opposed softening it, calling the July 2023 law limiting the reasonableness standard "just the beginning." When the judicial selection law passed in March 2025, he said the government must push on with the rest of the overhaul (Times of Israel).
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026; Jerusalem Post, Sep 24, 2026; Times of Israel, Mar 27, 2025, Sep 24, 2026. On the record, because the party did not answer the questionnaire
Shas7.6 seats
Deri: "fundamentally reform the judicial system and return power to the people and their elected representatives." No detailed new platform.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
UTJ7.6 seats
Says the Supreme Court has accumulated excessive power and its authority needs to be reconsidered and more clearly defined.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
People of Israel4.2 seats
The balance has shifted too far toward the courts; an additional judicial tier; remove the Israel Bar Association from the selection committee; narrow the reasonableness standard.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
The judiciary holds too much power; regulate the Basic Laws more clearly while limiting the Supreme Court's ability to intervene in government decisions; more oversight of prosecutors; a stronger Knesset role in overseeing the executive.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
The Jerusalem Post reports that at its relaunch as Noam for Israel in July 2026, the party named passing the judicial overhaul one of its main goals. It gave no detail of the changes it wants.
Jerusalem Post, Jul 30, 2026. On the record, because the party did not answer the questionnaire
Allow a limited override4.1 seats
Reservists–Economic4.1 seats
First a Basic Law on legislation; an override only with more than 72 lawmakers; narrow, not abolish, the reasonableness standard; at least 61 votes to enact a Basic Law.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Write the rules into Basic Laws39.8 seats
Yashar!21.0 seats
Repeal the judge-selection law and replace it through a Basic Law; opposes an override clause; clearer rules for judicial review through a Basic Law governing the judiciary, alongside a Basic Law on legislation.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
B'Yachad10.6 seats
Formally define the powers of the Knesset, government and Supreme Court; a Basic Law on legislation setting how Basic Laws are enacted and when the court may intervene; repeal the appointments law, which would politicize the court system; the Declaration of Independence as a Basic Law.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Yisrael Beiteinu8.2 seats
A written constitution put to a national referendum; amendments would need at least 80 of the Knesset's 120 members.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Keep the courts independent21.5 seats
The Democrats9.0 seats
The urgent problem is delays, overloaded courts and a shortage of judges, not excessive judicial power; an intermediate court of appeals; a comprehensive definition of the separation of powers.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Joint List7.7 seats
Supports reforms that strengthen democratic protections and safeguard the rights of all citizens; an appointment mechanism that preserves judicial independence.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026
Ra'am4.8 seats
Declined to give a current position; in 2023 it opposed the law abolishing the reasonableness standard and other measures to shift power from the courts.
Ynet, Sep 22, 2026. On the record, because the party did not answer the questionnaire
From Ynet's party-by-party survey on the judiciary, Sept 22, 2026. Likud declined it; its row adds its justice minister's 2025 law. Ra'am gave no current position; its row rests on its 2023 votes. Otzma Yehudit answered without a position; its row rests on its leader's support for the 2023 and 2025 laws. Noam's row is the Jerusalem Post's report of its relaunch, with no detail.
Misreadings
It is not a fight over a culture-war docket. Israel's fight is over the court's structure and power. Conservative justices joined the attorney-general ruling, and the conservative justice Alex Stein criticized the selection law at the June 2026 hearing (Times of Israel).
"Judicial review" means something different. The U.S. court reviews laws against a written constitution that is hard to amend. Israel's reviews them against Basic Laws, many passable by a simple majority, and since 2024 it says it may review those too.
Appointments work differently. Justices are not nominated and confirmed; they retire at 70. Under the old rules a Supreme Court appointment needed 7 of the committee's 9 votes, with three justices on it (IDI, Dec 2022).
The court also rules on who may run. In 2026 it overturned the election committee's bans on the Joint List and Ra'am.