Justice Minister Yariv Levin sent a sharply worded letter on Wednesday morning to the Courts Administration, demanding the cancellation of a conference set to take place at the Supreme Court under the title “Education for Democracy.”

His request followed reports that the event would feature former Supreme Court president Esther Hayut and Justice Yitzchak Amit, alongside radical left speakers who are not part of the judiciary system.

In the letter—sent after 0404 News published a report about the conference—Levin noted that the two external speakers invited to the event were Dr. Uki Maroshek, the director of the Adam Institute for Democracy and Peace, an organization touted by J Street, and Prof. Asa Kasher, who is notorious for crafting the IDF’s “purity of arms” doctrine that prioritized the lives of terrorists over IDF soldiers and more recently for his participation in the anti-Netanyahu protests and his inciteful remarks against the Dati Leumi and Chareidi sectors. Levin asserted that both speakers are publicly identified with clear left-wing political positions, and the conference does not include representatives of other worldviews.

Levin emphasized that “this is a political conference with speakers exclusively from the left wing, excluding entire communities and a serious violation of the principle of balance and neutrality expected of the judicial system.”

Levin further noted that Maroshak heads an organization that collaborates with radical left groups such as the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and “Women Wage Peace,” and he cites a 2020 statement in which she said that “Palestinian girls and boys are in existential danger.” Levin also references past comments by Prof. Kasher criticizing the Chareidi community, calling it “tyrannical” and “parasitic”—remarks Levin deems inappropriate for an event hosted at the Supreme Court.

According to Levin, if Hayut and Amit wish to hold politically or ideologically oriented conferences, they are free to do so privately, but not using public resources or judicial facilities. “The time has come to understand that the Supreme Court is not the private property of a handful of its judges, nor the domain of any ideological faction,” he wrote. “It is a public institution that belongs to all Israeli citizens.”

Levin concluded the letter by demanding the conference’s immediate cancellation and full disclosure of its costs and funding sources, which come from taxpayers. He also calls for assurances that any future events held in Courts Administration facilities will be balanced, nonpolitical, and reflective of the full spectrum of views within Israeli society.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)