What I Saw at the Supreme Court
- Noa Sattath
- Jul 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 29
July 24, 2025
Dear friend,
ACRI's work requires a unique kind of inner strength. This is true not only because of the difficult circumstances that we must face in our work to promote and protect human rights, but also because our work subjects us to harassment and abuse. But we will never be deterred from our pursuit of human rights for all.
This past Thursday, The Supreme Court held a hearing on ACRI’s case regarding the starvation of Palestinian security prisoners. This is a case on a petition that ACRI originally filed in April 2024 after reports from prisoners and lawyers, as well as statements from government officials, revealed a policy of starving Palestinian security prisoners, contravening Israeli and international law. This policy is not only immoral and illegal, it also has deadly implications for the prisoners and for the hostages. Extreme malnutrition over an extended period of time increases the likelihood of complications stemming from any medical issues and can even result in death. Meanwhile, the hostages being held by Hamas suffer the consequences when draconian policies are implemented against Palestinian prisoners.
While at the Supreme Court, ACRI’s staff was subjected to a barrage of harassment, verbal abuse, and intimidation from right-wing activists, and extremist Knesset Members Itamar Ben Gvir (the minister responsible for the implementation of the starvation policy, and under whose auspices law enforcement has become increasingly violent), Tally Gotliv, and Almog Cohen who attended the hearing for the sole purpose of harassing ACRI and disrupting the court proceedings. The Knesset Members and their followers threatened ACRI’s staff, cursed at us, and tried to intimidate us. When the court took a recess, ACRI staff were taken to a separate room to wait for the proceedings to resume for our own protection.
We were not the only targets that day. The MKs and their supporters also tried to halt the hearing by continuously interrupting and trying to shout down the proceedings. It is important to remember that amidst the chaos and fog of war, the government is still trying to ram through the judicial overhaul, aiming to weaken democratic institutions and anything (such as the judiciary) that could act as a check on the coalition’s power. The yelling and interruptions were a spectacle designed to display contempt for democratic institutions like the judicial system and the rule of law. The violence and disregard for democratic spaces and human rights that we saw in the courtroom is a microcosm of what is happening in Israel.
But while the experience was frightening and appalling, I also saw something else happen in the courtroom that day. The violence from the Knesset Members and right-wing activists may have been hard to experience, but ACRI’s Legal Advisor, Oded Feller, successfully argued his most important points to the judges. ACRI’s staff showed strength and courage that overmastered any ugliness and bullying. The outbursts began to seem less like a show of power and intimidation and more like lashing out in desperation that their time is running out and that we will win. Consider: the Knesset's Summer Session began with a clear majority for the government and fully developed plans to pass dozens of laws destroying democratic institutions and targeting minority groups. Less than 5% of the plan managed to pass. Talk of ceasefires and elections are in the air. While none of us can predict the future, I can say with confidence that while they may yell louder, we will quietly prevail.
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We have not forgotten: 🛑 Stop the killing and starvation in Gaza 🛑 Stop the abandonment of the hostages 🛑 End the war. Now.
