(photo credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)
Supreme Court President Isaac Amit warned Monday that public discourse surrounding Israel’s judiciary had reached an “unprecedented low,” saying that incitement, fake news, and personal attacks on judges were being normalized and had begun to threaten the court system’s ability to function.
Speaking at the Israel Bar Association’s annual conference in Eilat, Amit said the danger was not only in individual statements against judges, but in a broader process in which language and conduct that once would have been seen as beyond the pale were becoming routine.
“The public discourse regarding the judicial system is at an unprecedented low point,” Amit said. “We are witnessing a dangerous process of normalization - normalization of incitement, of defamation, of the spread of fake news and of personal attacks on judges.”
He said the situation had reached the point where some judges were afraid to answer phone calls from unknown numbers out of fear of threats and harassment.
“This is not only harmful to judges as individuals,” he said. “It is a direct blow to the judicial system’s ability to fulfill its role and to public trust in the rule of law.”
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