Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday strongly criticized the Supreme Court and its president, Yitzhak Amit, during an interview on Galei Tzahal, defending his recent harsh remarks and accusing the judiciary of undermining Israeli democracy.
“In a disgraceful way, you are trying to delegitimize me and silence my views,” Smotrich said, responding to public criticism. “I have no softer words left to describe the injustice that Yitzhak Amit and his colleagues are inflicting on Israeli democracy.”
Smotrich argued that the court is stripping authority from the elected government. “They are taking from us the right to govern,” he said. “Supreme Court judges trample and silence the voice of the majority and repeatedly steal the will and freedom of the people of Israel.”
As an example, Smotrich pointed to judicial intervention in government decisions. He cited the case of Galei Tzahal, noting that past chiefs of staff supported closing the military radio station and that the government had decided to do so, only for the Supreme Court to issue an interim injunction. He also criticized the court’s involvement in the appointment of the Civil Service Commissioner, saying that despite long-standing procedures and previous rulings - including one by Justice Amit himself - the government has been unable to make an appointment for over a year. “This is not democracy,” Smotrich said.
Earlier in the day, Smotrich’s remarks sparked a heated on-air exchange between Knesset Constitution Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) and Reshet Bet host Aryeh Golan.
During the broadcast, Golan referenced widely circulated media quotes attributed to Smotrich. Rothman challenged the accuracy of the citation, saying, “Say it in a full sentence so Bezalel can sue you for libel - because he didn’t say that.”
Golan responded that he was quoting Smotrich’s own words to avoid misrepresentation, prompting Rothman to interrupt and accuse Golan of lying. “What you said is false. I recommend you apologize,” Rothman said.
As the exchange escalated, Rothman offered his own interpretation of Smotrich’s remarks, saying that Smotrich accused the court of acting with “violence and bullying” and described Justice Amit as behaving “like a megalomaniac.” Rothman added that while the government seeks judicial reform without aggression, the court’s conduct could ultimately force a more forceful response.
After playing the original audio clip, Golan rejected Rothman’s characterization, saying it did not match what was heard. Rothman concluded by accusing the media of selectively editing the remarks and insisted that the government had attempted to reach compromises, but that “the court behaves aggressively."