[93278] Criticism in the High Court regarding the judicial selection framework: "Appointments are becoming political"

Tension surrounding the judicial selection process at the Supreme Court

During a hearing held today, June 21, 2026, significant criticism was raised by Supreme Court justices regarding the new framework for appointing judges. As reported by Netael Bandel and Co. along with Amir Ettinger & Yuval Segev, Justice Ofer Grosskopf addressed the issue of consensus and said that "the new law requires consensus between the opposition and the coalition, and the Supreme Court justices have no influence on the selection of judges". Grosskopf summarized his position by stating that the meaning of the move is that "the appointments are political".

Justice Yael Wilner joined these remarks, raising a structural difficulty in the new mechanism. According to Netael Bandel and Co., Justice Wilner argued that "the law does not provide an incentive to appoint judges by broad consensus". She explained that in a situation where consensus is not reached, the law grants the coalition and the opposition the power "to appoint whoever they want".

The reports reflect the concern within the legal system regarding the politicization of the judicial selection process, in the shadow of attempts to advance legislative changes intended to alter the balance of power in the Judicial Selection Committee. As of now, the covering channels are refraining from mentioning factors defending the law, focusing instead on the criticism heard from the courtroom.