Analysis
Seriously? Again with the judicial reform?
Israel cannot afford to be distracted by more internal power struggles and pointless ideological crusades
January 15, 2025 09:27
3 min read
Israel cannot afford to be distracted by more internal power struggles and pointless ideological crusades
January 15, 2025 09:27As the war in Gaza entered its 16th month this week and negotiations with Hamas intensified for a hostage deal and ceasefire, for some prominent Israelis it seemed that those issues were not the main concern. Instead, for them, the greatest challenge the country faces remains defeating the Israeli judicial system.
On Thursday, for example, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the controversial judicial reform of 2023, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar unveiled a sweeping package of changes to Israel’s judicial system. The new plan would expand political influence over judicial appointments and curtail the High Court’s ability to strike down legislation. On a positive note, stalled judicial appointments would finally resume and the position of Supreme Court president – vacant for over a year – would finally be filled.
Despite these limited benefits, the timing of the announcement has left many baffled. With still close to 100 hostages held in Gaza, and nine soldiers killed in action on Sunday and Monday, senior coalition members remain fixated on judicial reform – the very issue that many argue led to the current crisis.
To present his initiative, Levin released a professionally filmed video and enlisted the fathers of two soldiers who fell on October 7 to support him, an attempt to frame the reform as a unifying and necessary step for national healing.
Next was Simcha Rothman, a member of the National Religious Party and head of the Knesset Law Committee. In an extensive weekend interview with the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot, Rothman blamed the events of October 7 on structural limitations that prevented the prime minister from firing the IDF chief of staff at will. According to Rothman, Israel’s leadership is hamstrung by the attorney general’s authority, leaving the prime minister unable to “run things” effectively. By this logic, Benjamin Netanyahu, he went on to explain, cannot be held accountable for the Hamas surprise attack.
This claim is ridiculous. The reason October 7 happened was because of systemic failures across the government and the IDF. Rothman and Levin also contributed their part when they fractured the country by pushing their legal reforms without caring that it made Israel vulnerable.
After October 7 they understood this and for most of the last 15 months they were silent, recognising the extent of damage caused by their 2023 reforms. However, as the intensity of the war in Gaza has waned, Levin and Rothman have seized the moment to re-enter the public arena and reignite their campaign for judicial overhaul.
The timing makes sense. Last Friday, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram announced his resignation, citing the decline in the war’s intensity over the past two years. Despite ongoing military operations in Gaza, the conflict has clearly started winding down. Yet instead of prioritising national unity or addressing the hostages’ plight, Levin and Rothman have chosen to revisit the polarising issue of judicial reform. On Monday, for example, they announced that they would oppose a hostage deal even before it was brought to the cabinet for a vote.
What Levin and Rothman fail to acknowledge is their role in the very fractures that Hamas exploited. The 2023 judicial reform was characterised by arrogance and an unwillingness to compromise, and tore the country apart. It weakened national cohesion and distracted Israel’s leadership, giving Hamas an opportunity to launch its brutal October 7 attack.
Rothman’s suggestion that the crisis stemmed from the prime minister’s inability to fire the IDF chief of staff is nothing more than a deflection. The real issue was Netanyahu’s reluctance to rein in Rothman and Levin, even as their actions pushed Israel toward the brink. The attacks on October 7 were not the result of legal constraints but rather of a government consumed by internal strife.
Now, with 840 soldiers killed in Gaza, dozens of hostages still in enemy hands and the region teetering on the edge of wider conflict, the government’s priorities should be clear. Yet Levin and Rothman’s renewed push for judicial reform demonstrates a troubling detachment from reality. Their actions suggest that the lessons of 2023 and October 7 have yet to be learned.
What Levin and Rothman fail to internalise is that by returning to the divisive issue of judicial reform now, they risk perpetuating the exact instability that made October 7 possible. Judicial reform may have been Levin and Rothman’s most ambitious project, but it has become a symbol of what contributed to the Hamas attack 16 months ago.
Israel does not need judicial reform now. What it needs is unity and a hostage deal that brings our people home. The country cannot afford to be distracted by more internal power struggles and pointless ideological crusades. If its leaders fail to prioritise the real and present dangers, the cost could once again be devastating.