Israel’s cabinet voted unanimously not to recognize decisions by a media regulator the Supreme Court allowed to keep operating, escalating into a direct confrontation between the government and the court.

The dispute centers on the Second Authority Council, which regulates Israel’s commercial television and radio broadcasters. Several members resigned, leaving the council below the minimum number required by law. The Supreme Court ruled on June 17 that the outgoing council could continue working for now, despite the missing members.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Justice Minister Yariv Levin brought the government proposal. The cabinet said it would not recognize “any decision, approval, appointment or action” by the council as long as it does not meet the legal threshold. Karhi said, “The judges of the High Court are not the Knesset, and intoxication with power does not give authority to erase an explicit threshold condition from the law.”

Opposition leaders warned the move crosses a dangerous line. President Isaac Herzog said, “Noncompliance with a court ruling is a red line that must not be crossed under any circumstances.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid said a government that does not accept a High Court ruling becomes “an illegal government whose rulings and decisions we will not accept.”

For the coalition, the case is another example of judges overriding a clear law passed by elected officials. For the opposition, it is something far more dangerous: a government announcing that it can decide which Supreme Court rulings count. That is why the dispute immediately reopened the same fears that drove Israel’s 2023 judicial reform protests.