Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the chief architect of the suspended judicial overhaul legislation, reportedly told the cabinet on Sunday that the Supreme Court must feature justices who “understand” why Jewish Israelis would not be “prepared to live with Arabs” in mixed localities

“Arabs buy apartments in Jewish communities in the Galilee and this causes Jews to leave these cities, because they are not prepared to live with Arabs. We need to ensure that the Supreme Court has justices who understand this,” said Levin, according to the Kan public broadcaster

His reported remark was meant to be an argument in favor of controversial legislation that would bring judicial appointments under political control, as part of the suspended push to overhaul the judiciary and dramatically reduce the powers of the High Court of Justice

It came as the cabinet also held a discussion on a proposed government resolution advanced by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party to assert “Zionist values” in government policy, a move that would seemingly enable giving Jewish Israelis preferential treatment in housing planning and construction