Justice Minister Yariv Levin said Thursday that if the two hardline conservative academics he wants appointed to the Supreme Court do not get appointed, he will let the court “disappear” by refusing to make any new appointments to the top court at all.

“I say the following to the judges and to the opposition members: There are currently four vacant seats on the Supreme Court, and in the next term another five justices will leave,” Levin noted, referring to justices who will reach age 70 during the upcoming four-year Knesset term, and thus be automatically retired.

“Altogether there will be nine vacant seats,” the justice minister noted, in an interview with the Ynet news site. There are fifteen total seats on the court, a number established by the Knesset, meaning there would only be six justices remaining.

“I support reaching an agreement and making appointments that will diversify the court; if there is willingness [to do so], all the better. If there is no willingness, the court will gradually disappear on its own,” he said.

The remarks came as a Thursday deadline, handed down by the court, to provide a timeline for convening the Judicial Selection Committee was set to expire. As of the evening, he was not known to have submitted one yet.

The justice minister has refused to make appointments to the Supreme Court for the entire duration of his tenure, because he has lacked the votes on the committee to have Aviad Bakshi and Raphael Bitton appointed.

“I insist that people who express a different worldview [than the current........

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