02
February 2023
Past Event
Judicial Reform in Israel: A Conversation with Gadi Taub

Event will air on this page.

Judicial Reform in Israel: A Conversation with Gadi Taub

Past Event
Hudson Institute
February 02, 2023
Minister of Justice Yariv Levin. From his office in Tel Aviv, above the Azrieli Junction, the world does not look the same as it does on the Motzash at the junction itself. There is constant public pressure, he says, from all corners of the territory, to move forward with the reform. The public wants it, and the government will do it. We talked extensively about the reform and the criticism towards it.
Caption
Gadi Taub and Israeli Minister of Justice Yariv Levin in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 26, 2023. (@GadiTaub1 via Twitter)
02
February 2023
Past Event

Event will air on this page.

Speakers:
michael_doran
Michael Doran

Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East

Gadi Taub

Israeli historian, novelist, screenwriter, and Haaretz op-ed columnist

Key Takeaways

 

1. According to Professor Gadi Taub, a strong supporter of the judicial reform movement in Israel, the Israeli Supreme Court is usurping authority that rightfully belongs to the Knesset and government ministries. It wields a degree of influence over not just lawmaking but policymaking that is unprecedented in Western democracies.

2. This dynamic allows the majority-left-wing court to negate the views of the majority of Israelis, who vote for either right-wing or centrist politicians.

3. The current system for appointing judges insulates the Israeli judicial system from opposing viewpoints, so sitting judges can effectively appoint their own successors. The reforms that the current government seeks are in keeping with the norms of Western democracies.

 

Listen to Event Audio

Several weeks ago, the new Israeli justice minister, Yariv Levin, announced plans to reform the country’s judicial system by curtailing the very broad power of Israel’s judiciary to appoint judges, nullify laws, and otherwise regulate public life. In the view of its supporters, the reform will revitalize democracy. “We go to the polls, vote, elect, and time after time, people we didn’t elect choose for us,” Levin claimed. “Many sectors of the public look to the judicial system and do not find their voices heard. That is not democracy.” Levin’s critics have the exact opposite view. In their eyes, judicial reform is anti-democratic.

More than 100,000 demonstrators gathered recently in Habima Square in Tel Aviv to protest Levin’s plan. Many thousands more rallied in other cities throughout the country. “Now is the hour of darkness,” author David Grossman told the crowd. To help us better understand what’s going on, we have invited Gadi Taub—an Israeli historian, author, and prominent supporter of the reform—to walk us through the debate.

Related Events
12
May 2025
Past Event
Alaska’s Role in Global Energy Security with Governor Mike Dunleavy
Featured Speakers:
Mike Dunleavy
Kenneth R. Weinstein
Getty Images
12
May 2025
Past Event
Alaska’s Role in Global Energy Security with Governor Mike Dunleavy

Governor Mike Dunleavy of Alaska will join Japan Chair Ken Weinstein for a fireside chat.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Mike Dunleavy
Kenneth R. Weinstein
12
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Canceled | A Fireside Chat with Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense
Featured Speakers:
Minister Dovilė Šakalienė
Marshall Billingslea
Getty Images
12
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Canceled | A Fireside Chat with Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė will join Hudson Senior Fellow Marshall Billingslea for a discussion on the foreign policy and security issues her country faces.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Minister Dovilė Šakalienė
Marshall Billingslea
13
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
To Invent Is Divine: Creativity, Ownership, and the US Patent System
Featured Speakers:
James Edwards
Adam Mossoff
Getty Images
13
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
To Invent Is Divine: Creativity, Ownership, and the US Patent System

Join Adam Mossoff for a conversation with the author about why IP protections are essential for fostering human flourishing, how the American system has been degraded, and steps policymakers can take to restore the system that has benefited the US and the world.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
James Edwards
Adam Mossoff
13
May 2025
Virtual Event | Online Only
Building Weapons that Adapt and Scale
Featured Speakers:
Colonel Tim Fuhrman
Diem Salmon
Mike Rucker
Trent Emeneker
Eric Nelson
Moderators:
Nadia Schadlow
Bryan Clark
DVIDS
13
May 2025
Virtual Event | Online Only
Building Weapons that Adapt and Scale

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Nadia Schadlow for a discussion of the opportunities and challenges in establishing a new weapons design and development approach with leaders from the US Air Force, Defense Innovation Unit, and US defense industry.

DVIDS
Featured Speakers:
Colonel Tim Fuhrman
Diem Salmon
Mike Rucker
Trent Emeneker
Eric Nelson
Moderators:
Nadia Schadlow
Bryan Clark