Yariv Levin

PM said ready to ‘go all the way’ with reasonableness bill to limit judicial review

Netanyahu expected to wait until legislation goes for 1st Knesset reading to gauge public reaction before deciding if other elements of overhaul will be advanced in current session

People protest against the planned judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv, on June 24, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

25th week of rallies: Protesters warn of escalation if coalition moves unilaterally

By ToI Staff

Newly elected head of the Israeli Bar Association Amit Becher at a press conference for the announcement of the election results for the Israeli Bar Association in Tel Aviv, June 21, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Winning bar contest, Becher spoils coalition hope of controlling judge picks, for now

By Jeremy Sharon

June 26, 2023, 8:12 am

PM said ready to ‘go all the way’ with reasonableness bill to limit judicial review

Netanyahu expected to wait until legislation goes for 1st Knesset reading to gauge public reaction before deciding if other elements of overhaul will be advanced in current session

By ToI Staff

June 24, 2023, 11:13 pm

25th week of rallies: Protesters warn of escalation if coalition moves unilaterally

As some 100,000 demonstrate in Tel Aviv and thousands protest elsewhere, leaders maintain dark forces continue to threaten Israel’s democracy

By ToI Staff

June 21, 2023, 10:40 pm

Winning bar contest, Becher spoils coalition hope of controlling judge picks, for now

Victorious new Israel Bar Association chair says his election will go down as ‘an important chapter in the history of Israeli democracy’

By Jeremy Sharon

Lawyers cast their ballots for the head of the Israel Bar Association at a voting station at the Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem, June 20, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 20, 2023, 9:56 pm

Chaos in crucial Bar Association elections as high turnout complicates vote

Some voters report waiting many hours to cast ballots, as attorneys scramble to address prospect of government controlling judicial selection without the need for legislation

By Jeremy Sharon

Lawyers vote in the Israel Bar Association election at the Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem, June 20, 2023 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 20, 2023, 1:55 pm

Lawyers vote for leadership of bar association, a key factor in selection of judges

Turnout high as top candidates trade barbs; victory of government ally over staunch overhaul critic could mean government will be able to remake judiciary without legislation

By ToI Staff and Jeremy Sharon

Israelis protest against the government's planned judicial overhaul, outside PM Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, on May 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 20, 2023, 1:35 am

US says overhaul consensus crucial as Netanyahu coalition unilaterally restarts push

White House reiterates importance of ‘broadest possible base of popular support’ for judicial reforms as bill shackling court on ‘reasonableness’ doctrine heads to committee

By Jacob Magid and Carrie Keller-Lynn

Interim head of the Israel Bar Association Amit Becher (left) and former Israel Bar Association head Efi Nave (right). Becher and Nave are the leading candidates in the elections for IBA chairman set for June 20, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90 and Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 19, 2023, 4:59 pm

Character of the judiciary at stake in Tuesday’s Israel Bar Association elections

Support within the IBA’s National Council could give Justice Minister Levin enough power to remake the judiciary without the need for legislation. How likely is that to happen?

By Jeremy Sharon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with the architects of the proposed judicial overhaul, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and MK Simcha Rothman (standing) in the Knesset on February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 19, 2023, 6:02 am

Government gears up to advance smaller parts of overhaul after talks suspended

Coalition likely to push one bill restricting the High Court’s use of the reasonableness doctrine to review gov’t policy, and another curbing ministerial legal advisers’ powers

By Jeremy Sharon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on June 18, 2023. (Amit Shabi/POOL)

June 18, 2023, 12:36 pm

Netanyahu vows to move ahead with parts of judicial overhaul ‘this week’

Addressing cabinet meeting, prime minister accuses Lapid and Gantz of ‘playing a game’ and seeking to ‘waste time’ by freezing negotiations

By Amy Spiro

June 16, 2023, 9:31 pm

Growing calls in Likud to resume overhaul push; Levin: ‘I’m more determined than ever’

Netanyahu said making efforts to resume negotiations with opposition, as one ally warns that if reforms wither, ministers could quit en masse

By ToI Staff

Leader of the Opposition and Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid speaks during a press conference in the Knesset, June 14, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 14, 2023, 10:58 pm

Lapid, Gantz freeze overhaul negotiations over ‘PM’s capitulation to extremists’

Opposition leaders say they demand functioning judge selection panel if talks are to continue; Netanyahu accuses them of looking for an excuse to halt the process

By Jeremy Sharon and ToI Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks with Justice Minister Yariv Levin during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, May 28, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 11, 2023, 11:58 am

PM said inclined to reject Levin’s plan to deny the opposition a judicial panel spot

In vote Wednesday, Netanyahu reportedly unlikely to give the coalition both of the 2 committee seats reserved for MKs, a move that would likely sink Herzog-brokered reform talks

By ToI Staff

L-R: Likud MKs David Bitan, Yuli Edelstein, and Shalom Danino in the Knesset in 2022 and 2023. (Flash90, File)

June 10, 2023, 6:12 pm

Likud MKs say plans to skew judicial selection panel in coalition’s favor ‘shelved’

Remarks come ahead of Knesset vote this week to select two lawmakers to committee, with the ruling party’s Danino saying he’s ‘convinced’ an opposition MK will be appointed

By ToI Staff

Justice Minister Yariv Levin speaks in the Knesset on June 7, 2023. (Screenshot: YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

June 7, 2023, 3:37 pm

Levin calls current judge selection process ‘invalid’ and ‘unworthy’ of a democracy

Justice minister casts doubt on plans to convene appointment panel, says present method is at root of judicial system flaws; Knesset to elect MKs to sit on panel next week

By Carrie Keller-Lynn

Likud MK Nissim Vaturi joins supporters of former Border Police officer Orian Ben Khalifa, who was accused of assaulting a Palestinian woman in Jerusalem's Old City, in a protest outside her hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

June 7, 2023, 11:04 am

Wrangling over nominations for judicial selection panel strains overhaul talks

Coalition faces rogue candidates, as opposition says it won’t stay at the negotiating table unless it gets its traditional seat on the committee

By Carrie Keller-Lynn