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Last update - 02:43 27/05/2008 Senior judge rapped for meeting journalists By Tomer Zarchin Judicial Ombudsman Tova Strasberg-Cohen has put an admonitory comment in the personal file of Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court President Edna Bekenstein, because the judge held an unauthorized meeting with journalists and sent a strongly-worded letter of protest to Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch. Strasberg-Cohen looked into Bekenstein's behavior in response to a complaint filed by Beinisch around three months ago. The complaint touched on two issues. First was Bekenstein's meeting with journalists who were preparing a report on the courts' excessive caseload, for which she did not receive approval from the Courts Administration. Second was the angry letter Bekenstein sent Beinisch over the omission of Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court Judge Hayuta Kochan from a list of candidates for promotion to the district courts that was submitted to the Judicial Appointments Committee. The Courts Administration argued that Kochan, who headed the panel that convicted former justice minister Haim Ramon, was dropped due "to the needs of the court." But Bekenstein maintained in her letter that this was not the true reason, adding that this explanation for Kochan's omission constituted "throwing sand in the public's eyes." Advertisement In her decision, Strasberg-Cohen wrote that Bekenstein's unauthorized transfer of information to journalists violated the judicial code of ethics. Bekenstein's "crude and accusatory" letter to Beinisch, she found, violated another section of this code, which stipulates that a judge must treat his colleagues "with respect and collegiality." Bekenstein is a dominant figure in the judicial system by virtue of having responsibility for 123 judges and registrars. Therefore, the ombudsman's decision is considered unprecedented. Bekenstein told Haaretz in response that "the ombudsman's decision in this matter was tendentious and was intended from the start to satisfy President Beinisch. My letter [to Beinisch] was not given to the press by me. In contrast, an announcement was sent to the press about the president having filed a complaint against me, a proceeding that is internal, confidential and personal. And that is without even mentioning the ombudsman's decision, which was forwarded in a 'personal, confidential, for the addressee only' letter, but is today circulating in the media." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Scuba SMS Ultrasonic sound wave technology revolutionizes underwater communication. 'Hip-hop violinist' Israeli violinist participates in New York event, celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary.

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