The Judicial Selection Committee convened today (Monday) to select four judges to be appointed to the Supreme Court, which could affect fateful decisions in the coming years.
The Judicial Selection Committee recently approved the four candidates for the Supreme Court: from the Khaled Kabov activist camp to be the first Muslim Supreme Court judge and Ruth Ronen close to the New Israel Fund.
From the Conservatives' camp, Adv. Yechiel Kasher, a representative of the Bar Association identified as conservatives and Gila Kanfei Steinitz, the wife of Yuval Steinitz. The two candidates from the Conservative camp won the support of Justice Minister Gideon Saar.
Minister Saar said at the beginning of the meeting that "the composition that will be imported is also diverse and balanced in terms of legal perceptions and reflects our diverse social mosaic. In November we could not reach this result and out of the same sense of responsibility I then canceled the committee meeting."
According to Saar, "Once I have reached the right result to the best of my knowledge and judgment - it is my duty as chairman of the committee to lead this election and that is how I act today. I thank all committee members without exception who have acted, each .
Khaled Kabov, who is expected to serve as the first Muslim Supreme Court judge, and Ruth Ronen, who is close to the New Israel Fund, are candidates for the "activist" camp.
From the "Conservatives" camp are candidates Adv. Yechiel Kasher, a representative of the Bar Association who is identified as a conservative, and Gila Kanfei Steinitz, the wife of MK Yuval Steinitz.
These candidates are expected to replace the Supreme Court justices who have already retired - Menachem Mazuz and Hanan Meltzer, and Justices Neil Handel, who will retire in April, and George Kara, who will retire in May.
The activist camp, which includes Supreme Court justices, has been trying for several years to appoint Kabov and Ronen to the Supreme Court.
These are relatively familiar characters;
Judge Kabov serves as Vice President of the Tel Aviv-Yafo District Court, is a lecturer at Bar Ilan University and the Ono Academic College, and previously served as a judge at the Netanya Magistrate's Court.
Judge Ronen is considered an outstanding judge and serves as a judge in the Economic Department of the Tel Aviv District Court.
Ronen graduated with honors from the Hebrew University and previously served as a judge in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court.
Agreements on the candidates did not come in a vacuum.
Justice Minister Saar tried to find candidates on whom the judges could agree to form a majority.
The law allows for the election of Supreme Court justices by a majority of 7 out of 9 committee members.
About a month ago, the committee was rejected due to disagreements between its members regarding appointments to the Supreme Court, which led to the creation of the "deal" between the Minister of Justice and the Supreme Court.
In the negotiations conducted by Minister Saar, he succeeded in removing the candidacy of Yigal Marzel, the director of the courts and a protégé of Aharon Barak, who is also considered a red sheet among the right, but in return all the candidates that the conservative right wanted to admit were rejected.
Members of the Judicial Selection Committee,
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
They further note that Saar's compromise made it possible to reach an agreement that did not detract from the quality of the candidates.
Judge Khaled Kabov, Photo: Yossi Zeliger
Opponents of this deal point out that these are "fur", "right-wing" candidates at best, who will be much less motivated to bring the values from the camp they come from compared to Kabov and Ronen.
Judge Ronen,
Judge Ronen is considered an outstanding judge and serves as a judge in the Economic Department of the Tel Aviv District Court.
Ronen graduated with honors from the Hebrew University and previously served as a justice of the peace at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court.
In 2011, the then Ombudsman for Judges, retired Judge Eliezer Goldberg, found a complaint against her to be justified after receiving a lawsuit from Gisha, which at the time transferred materials to the investigation committee of the Goldstone Report supported by the New Israel Fund, while her husband was a board member. In it and even donated 350,000 shekels to the fund.
Judge Steinitz,
Judge Kanfei-Steinitz, vice president of the Jerusalem District Court, is a candidate for the conservative camp, and is expected to be the first Mizrahi woman in the Supreme Court.
However, apart from being the "wife of" there is no real evidence of her being particularly conservative.
Steinitz chose to cite in her sample judgments a judgment from September 2018 in which she obliged Radio Kol Barama to put women on air, an activist judgment by all accounts.
In November 2008, she was a member of the panel that received the state's appeal and convicted three right-wing activists among the founders of the "National House" movement who initiated roadblocks as part of opposition to the disengagement plan for offenses of insurrection and publicity.
Activists were acquitted in the Magistrates' Court for protection of justice, but the state appealed the ruling.
Adv. Yechiel Kosher, Photo: Tomer Jacobson
Adv. Yechiel Kasher was a candidate for the Bar Association who insisted that one of the candidates to be approved be a lawyer from the private sector. His associates describe him as having a conservative worldview and being identified for years with right-wing parties. Litigation at Tadmor Levy & Co. In 2013, he was ranked as the best litigation lawyer in the country by the American guide Best Lawyers.
The firm of Tadmor Levy & Co. stated: "Our dear partner, Adv. Yechiel Kasher, was appointed Supreme Court Justice today. There is no greater honor than this, and there is no proper appointment from him. "Great talent and enormous legal knowledge, decades of court appearances, diligence, dedication, pleasant demeanor, honesty and integrity. The entire staff of the Tadmor Levy office stands excited, salutes Yehiel, and wishes him well and good health."
The head of the Bar Association, Adv. Avi Chimi, responded that "The Bar Association welcomes the appointment of the new Supreme Court justices, and especially, and after more than a decade, the Bar Association's position to appoint a Supreme Court judge from the private sector. Highly experienced, professional, valued and worthy of the position of Chief Justice, and our appointment - our pride. It is very important to appoint a Chief Justice who is connected to the field and practice.
Each and every one of the judges appointed today has a special and important line.
These are excellent lawyers who will work for the citizens of Israel - everyone. "
Judge Kabov serves as Vice President of the Tel Aviv-Yafo District Court, is a lecturer at Bar Ilan University and the Ono Academic College, and previously served as a justice of the peace in the Netanya Magistrate's Court.
The Movement for Governance and Democracy said in response to the election of judges: "The decision of the Judicial Appointments Committee today is another step in separating the Supreme Court, and the entire justice system, from the Israeli public. The campaign is not over. "
The chairman of Otzma Yehudit, MK Itamar Ben Gvir, came out against the interior minister: "Ayelet Shaked has hit the right again. in the state of Israel".
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