Boycotting of Isaac Amit is adding insult to injury

Levin refused to accept the decision, stating that he would not sign off on Amit’s appointment alongside President Isaac Herzog, nor would he cooperate with Amit in any way.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN FEBRUARY 13, 2025 21:02

Interim Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit’s was officially appointed permanent chief justice in a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

For the first time since the establishment of the Supreme Court in 1948, the prime minister, the justice minister, and the speaker of the Knesset, along with other members of the coalition, boycotted the path of allegiance ceremony of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Israel does not have a swearing-in ceremony as such, but judges pledge allegiance to the principles and values of justice.

Isaac Amit, who, under the seniority system of succession, has been acting chief justice of the Supreme Court since October 2024, was not the choice of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who publicly humiliated him and who used every means at his disposal to discredit Amit, as did other members of the coalition.

Amit, 66, has been a member of the Supreme Court since 2009. His election and appointment as chief justice were delayed by Levin for more than a year; he was eventually appointed by a Judicial Appointments Committee.

Levin refused to accept the decision of the committee, and said he would not sign on Amit’s appointment together with President Isaac Herzog, nor would he cooperate with Amit in any way.

PRESIDENT ISAAC Herzog receives the official election results from Supreme Court Justice Isaac Amit, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, on Wednesday. (credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)

Levin seeks to abolish the seniority system as well as the independence of the Supreme Court.

Serious effects on the work of the courts

His attitude will have serious deleterious effects on the work of the courts, especially the 15 justices on the Supreme Court.

Former Supreme Court justice Hanan Melcer, speaking on KAN Radio Reshet Bet on Thursday, said that because the event officially marking Amit’s appointment was a state ceremony, the absence of Netanyahu, Levin, and Ohana was an insult to Herzog and the nation, as Herzog represents the whole nation.

Melcer also suggested that the time had come to appoint a Druze judge to the Supreme Court, adding that he knew of several who were worthy.

The boycott has provoked strong media, legal, and political attention, with some people suggesting that Levin should step down or be forced to resign because his obstinate refusal to abide by democratic precepts, is an infringement of the law.

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Across the road and outside the President’s Residence were two demonstrations – one against Amit and the other supportive of him.

Inside the main hall were so many members of the judiciary that extra chairs had to be put out to accommodate them all.

Given the cold, it was anticipated that many of those invitees who live far from Jerusalem would not come.

Their presence was indicative of Amit’s popularity and the displeasure of the judiciary with the government.

Former Supreme Court chief justices Aharon Barak, Asher Grunis, Dorit Beinish, and Esther Hayut were present as was former acting president Uzi Vogelman, along with former president of the state Reuven Rivlin, Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara, opposition leader Yair Lapid and other dignitaries.

In their respective addresses, Herzog, Vogelman, and Amit focused primarily on the importance of maintaining a Jewish and democratic state, the need for the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to cooperate to heal the social rifts that threaten the democratic nature of the state, the significance of an independent judicial system to win back waning public confidence, the danger of political interference in the judiciary and the urgency of bringing the hostages home.

Herzog said he was happy to open a new chapter in the history of the Supreme Court.

Vogelman, who worked for many years alongside Amit, said that his colleague had a profound knowledge of the law and a deep respect for human rights.

Amit, who grew up in a working-class neighborhood as the son of Holocaust survivors, said that his father, who had been liberated from Buchenwald by the Red Army, looked only for the good in people.

Amit wove his personal history into his remarks and said that he enjoyed reading poetry to his grandchildren.At the conclusion, there was another rousing and sustained ovation, which overcame the noise of the outdoor demonstration that penetrated the hall.