Judicial Selection Committee Appoints New Judges After 18-Month Hiatus

After an 18-month hiatus, the Judicial Selection Committee reconvened Sunday to appoint new judges, filling dozens of vacancies across magistrate, traffic, youth, and family courts.

The committee appointed 17 judges to magistrate courts in the northern and Haifa districts, 12 to traffic courts, six to youth courts, and 12 to family courts. Additionally, six magistrate court presidents were promoted to district court judge positions, and 15 temporary judges were appointed to district courts to alleviate the heavy caseload resulting from the prolonged vacancies.

These appointments followed legal pressure, including petitions to the High Court of Justice, urging Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the committee. The court was asked to order Levin to fill some of the 51 vacancies on magistrate and district courts nationwide.

However, MK Karine Elharrar of the Yesh Atid party abstained from the promotion of magistrate court presidents. She, along with the two representatives from the Israel Bar Association, protested Levin's refusal to make appointments in the Central, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem districts, where judge shortages are acute. The three Supreme Court justices on the committee voted with the three coalition representatives to ensure the appointments passed.

The 18-month delay was attributed to Levin's refusal to convene the committee, demanding "broad consensus", meaning unanimity, for all appointments, despite lower court appointments only requiring five out of nine votes. This tactic aimed to increase his influence, as the coalition lacks a majority on the panel. The coalition has also pursued legislation to remake the committee, granting politicians veto power over all judicial appointments.

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broad consensus