Judicial system

No. 24: Gali Baharav-Miara, Isaac Amit, and Noam Sohlberg: Public faces of Israel’s justice system

Baharav-Miara was the government’s internal legal constraint; Amit, the judiciary’s institutional defender; Sohlberg, a conservative jurist placed at the center of political and social disputes.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
(L-R): Gali Baharav-Miara, Yitzhak Amit, and Noam Sohlberg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, cast their vote during elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, Nov. 25, 2025.

Jewish voting: How ancient Jewish tradition helped shape modern democracy - opinion

The Mishna, as well as other rabbinic works, detail voting procedures that were revolutionary for their time and that were handed down for generations. They influence democratic procedures today.

|ByMICAH HALPERN
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY President Mahmoud Abbas. Thousands of October 7 victims and their families are seeking to hold the PA civilly liable, arguing that its long-standing prisoner payment and employment policies helped sustain terrorists who return to violence.

Pay-for-slay: Could the Palestinian Authority be held legally liable for October 7?

LEGAL AFFAIRS: Thousands of plaintiffs are taking the PA to court, arguing that its financial and employment policies toward convicted terrorists create a link to the Hamas massacre.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN
Opposition members of Israel's Knesset leave during a preliminary vote to establish a political commission of inquiry, December 24, 2025; Illustrative.

Knesset to High Court: Judicial-selection overhaul does not justify striking down Basic Law

Under the current system, the committee includes three Supreme Court justices, two ministers, two MKs, and two representatives of the Israel Bar Association.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN

A critical crossroads - opinion

If the judicial reform legislation passes by April 2, then Israel will be a step before a serious constitutional crisis.

MARCH 20, 2023BySUSAN HATTIS ROLEF
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu is believed to be aware that should he decide to put the brakes on the process, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin might well decide to resign.

Is Netanyahu trapped or out of touch with the Israeli public? - opinion

Democracy brought them to power and it is this power that could ultimately destroy Israel as we know it.

MARCH 20, 2023ByANDREA SAMUELS
FORMER IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz addresses a rally outside the Knesset against the proposed judicial overhaul, last month. He describes the protests as a ‘war of liberation for the State of Israel.’

Israel democracy, judicial review: The Brutus-Hamilton debate - opinion

Those opposing restoration of Knesset authority are forgetting not only Israeli history but American history as well.

MARCH 20, 2023BySHLOMO SLONIM
CONSTITUTION, LAW and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman tries to maintain order during a committee session last week.

New Rothman proposal does not solve 'essential legal difficulties,' deputy A-G says

The changes proposed by Rothman to the bill were met with criticism from both coalition and opposition MKS.

MARCH 20, 2023ByELIAV BREUER, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu looks toward MK Simcha Rothman as they confer with Justice Minister Yariv Levin in the Knesset last week. Levin and Rothman have been emphasizing the larger public welfare, says the writer

Coalition leaders meet to discuss ‘softening’ of judicial reform

Rothman introduces drastic Judicial Selection Committee changes.

MARCH 19, 2023ByMICHAEL STARR, ELIAV BREUER
MK Simcha Rothman, Head of the Constitution Committee, at a committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on March 19, 2023.

Noa Tishby talks about judicial reform on 'Real Time with Bill Maher'

"The biggest problem within the Israeli system is that there's no constitution," said Tishby.

MARCH 19, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Noa Tishby

Israel needs judicial reform, but not 'this' judicial reform - opinion

The override clause, which would give the Knesset power to overturn a court decision by a simple majority of 61, is ridiculous and makes a complete mockery of the court

MARCH 17, 2023ByAHARON E. WEXLER
BANNING PUBLIC transportation on Shabbat: The state’s Jewish character versus its democratic nature.

Most Israelis support Herzog's judicial reform outline - poll

42% of respondents said they support Herzog's proposal while 34% said they oppose it. 24% of respondents said they have no opinion on the issue.

MARCH 17, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
TURN TO President Isaac Herzog – and a dream team of Israeli icons – to lead public meetings over court reform, and develop more legitimating procedures for changing our balance of democratic powers, says the writer.

Raising the question of the character of the state - opinion

Changes in the Israeli Judicial Selection Committee or the override clause don't address the real issue at hand.

MARCH 15, 2023ByOMER DOSTRI
LEFT TO right: Then-prime minister Menachem Begin sits in the Knesset plenum alongside cabinet ministers Yosef Burg and David Levy, in 1983. The Right’s stunning victory in 1977 caused immense fear and alarm on the Left

Netanyahu needs to look inward, listen to the voices of Israelis - editorial

It’s time for Netanyahu to cease his attacks on the media, show true leadership, and put the good of the country ahead of all other considerations.

MARCH 15, 2023ByJPOST EDITORIAL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein seen during the vaccination of the two million recipients, in Ramla, January 14, 2021.