Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut blasted critics of the court at the annual Israel Bar Association conference in Eilat on Monday.
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"The undermining of the legitimacy of the courts and their judgments in effect undermines the principle of the rule of law, and from here to anarchy and chaos the distance is short," Hayut said.
"The judiciary is an island of stability in this time of great upheaval, although unfortunately there are those who have set themselves the goal of harming and weakening it," said Hayut.
"This trend is reflected, among other things, in blatant and unbridled attacks that sometimes border on actual incitement and are directed personally at judges in all courts, due to decisions that are not to the liking of those parties," she continued. "These attacks are not just the domain of private individuals and tweeters of various social networks. They are also heard, regretfully, from elected officials."
Hayut was reportedly referring to remarks made last week by Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, who had attacked the court over a ruling in which it warned against passing future Basic Laws of the kind that extended the state budget by 11 billion shekels ($3.4 billion).
Basic Laws are considered Israel's quasi-constitution, so there is a question of whether the Supreme Court had the power to intervene or even to hear the case.
Three justices dissented and said the court lacked the authority to analyze or characterize whether a Basic Law is properly thought out as a long-term principle or is a narrow short-term political fix.
In a subsequent Facebook post on Monday, Levin wrote: "The silencing choir of the leaders of the judicial system worked overtime today, trying to guide the new legal revolution, which means the final transfer of the legislative powers from the Knesset to the Supreme Court. The attempt to delegitimize and threaten those who stand up with determination to protect the Knesset and democracy will fail."
Smotrich also responded on Monday, tweeting: "Madam President, your verdict that disqualified a Basic Law statute is insane and a coup event, and must not be obeyed."
He called Hayut's speech "arrogant and condescending" and described the ruling as part of "the continued judicial revolution weakening Israeli democracy."
According to Hayut, "When any elected official allows himself to describe a court ruling as an 'insane event' or as a 'coup,' this says more about the speaker than about the court that issued the ruling."
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit backed Hayut, saying that the statements made by elected officials were "harsh and severe." "These are irresponsible statements that undermine the basis for our coexistence here as a democratic society," his spokesman said.
The legislative branch in a democracy, Mendelblit said, must respect and obey rulings of the judicial branch even if it does not agree with them. No democracy or system based on rule of law can function without these basic tenets," the attorney general added.
Justice Minister Benny Gantz also came to Hayut's defense, warning that "the court is having to maneuver under fire and having to hold together the stability of the governing system, which is being held hostage from election to election."
That certain public officials, such as the justices, are being attacked for doing their jobs, he said, "Raises the concern that we did not learn the lesson in Jewish history from the murder of [former Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin."
All public officials must unequivocally condemn incitement to violence, especially against other public officials, Gantz said.
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