Former Supreme Court president Esther Hayut expressed concerns about the government's desire to return the divisive judicial reform laws to the agenda during her award speech after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa on Monday.
These are Hayut's first public remarks since retiring from the bench in October 2023, after serving on the Supreme Court since 2003 and as chief justice since 2017.
Hayut raised her concerns about threats to the independence of several democratic bodies, including the judiciary, academia, and the media, among other institutions.
"I am deeply concerned about disastrous initiatives and actions that pose a significant threat to the independence and impartiality of essential democratic anchors. These anchors include, among others, institutions such as the State Comptroller, the Bank of Israel and its Governor, the Attorney General’s office, the judiciary, academia, and the media."
Hayut emphasized Israel's commitment to principles of liberty, freedom, and equality, saying, "Israel committed itself to a regime of substantive democracy."
"This system ensures that the governing majority, elected through free elections, does not concentrate unlimited power. The substantive democracy enshrined in the Declaration of Independence is inseparably linked to Israel’s identity as a Jewish state," the former Supreme Court chief said.
Previous criticisms of judicial reforms
Hayut has previously criticized the judicial reforms proposed by the government, specifically pushed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
In January 2023, she said that the government's planned judicial reform would "crush" the judicial system.
“Israel will soon mark 75 years of independence as a Jewish and democratic state. Unfortunately, if the people who made up this plan have their way, the 75th year will be remembered as the year in which Israel’s democracy suffered a fatal blow,” she said. “This is an unbridled attack on the judicial system as if it were an enemy that must be attacked and subdued."
“Anyone who claims that the majority who elected their representatives to the Knesset thereby gave them an ‘open check’ to do as they please bears the name of democracy in vain,” she said.
Earlier in December, Levin wrote in a post to Facebook that "They have left us no choice. This cannot continue. We, too, have rights," referring to his commitment to return the divisive judicial reforms to the government's agenda.
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.