Last update - 00:00 25/04/2007
Committee decides to appoint judge in first ever conditional posting
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The Judicial Appointments Committee made its first-ever conditional appointment last Thursday, when it decided to appoint former deputy state prosecutor Nava Ben-Or to the Jerusalem District Court.
The decision included a footnote stating that because a complaint to the police has been filed against Ben-Or, the committee will be authorized to reconsider the appointment at any time before Ben-Or is sworn in should three of its nine members decide that the complaint warrants reconsideration.
Haaretz has learned that Ben-Or, whose candidacy was unreservedly backed by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, failed to mention a pending civil suit against her in her application, even though the committee's rules required her to do so.
This failure was the subject of the subsequent police complaint against her.
Nevertheless, several committee members opposed postponing discussion of her candidacy until the police have decided whether to open a criminal investigation.
A vote on the subject resulted in a tie, with four in favor of postponement, four opposed and Interior Minister Roni Bar-On abstaining; as a result, the committee decided to continue with the discussion.
Ben-Or's appointment was approved by a vote of seven to two, with the two votes against coming from Bar Association representative attorney Pinhas Marinsky and opposition MK Gilad Erdan. The three Supreme Court Justices, two cabinet ministers, one coalition MK and the second Bar Association representative all voted in favor.
Some committee members expressed concern that Ben-Or's appointment would influence the police to shelve the complaint against her. But others noted that the complaint was filed by a serial complainer to the Judicial Appointments Committee, apparently with the express intent of foiling her appointment.
"It bothers me that the committee did not agree to a two- to three-week postponement in order to look into the matter," said one committee member afterward. "It is inconceivable that the committee should know there is a police complaint against a candidate yet not examine the details, and appoint her as a judge. The eagerness to appoint Ben-Or chilled me. This was a perfect case of 'a friend bringing a friend' [into the judiciary]."
Another item discussed by the committee was Ben-Or's opinion, as deputy state prosecutor, regarding controversial wiretaps authorized by former police major general Moshe Mizrahi. Her opinion in this case was overruled by then attorney general Elyakim Rubinstein, now a Supreme Court justice.
Ben-Or said in response: "I was appointed legally; I was not appointed with an asterisk [i.e. a footnote], and beyond that I don't want to respond."
Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's office responded that while the minister has increased the transparency of the committee's work, "the rule that discussions on personal matters are confidential unless the committee decides otherwise remains in force. In the case of attorney Ben-Or, Minister Friedmann believes that [the committee] should positively consider publicizing its discussion on this matter, and at its next meeting, he will ask the committee for approval to publicize the discussion."
Courts spokeswoman Eilat Filo said that Beinisch "made no effort to convince committee members to support Ben-Or without the footnote. The committee discussed the unique nature of the complaint, and in this context, it weighed considerations such as the substance of the complaint, when it was filed and its source."