Israel’s top judge says judicial reform plan will crush justice system

The president of Israel’s Supreme Court said on Thursday that a judicial reform plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would
crush the justice system and undermine the country’s democracy.
Chief justice Esther Hayut issued the stark warning in response to a plan backed by Netanyahu that includes limiting High Court rulings against government moves or Knesset laws, while increasing politicians’ say in selecting judges.
The proposal, Hayut said in a televised speech, “is not a plan to fix the justice system but a plan to crush it.”
It will “deal a fatal blow” to the independence of judges and their ability to serve the public, she said. “The meaning of this plan is therefore to change the democratic identity of the country beyond recognition.”
Netanyahu’s justice minister, Yariv Levine, later defended the reform he is championing and criticized what he refered to as “a call to set the streets on fire”.