Acting President of the Supreme Court, Justice Yitzhak Amit, sent a scathing letter today (Thursday) to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, claiming that a "slander campaign" is being waged against him."
""Recently, an organized and timed smear campaign has been underway against me in preparation for the hearing of the committee to select judges to elect a president of the Supreme Court. As part of this campaign, not a single stone has been left unturned in order to create delegitimization and a false narrative, with the aim of thwarting my candidacy for president of the Supreme Court.""
""As a reminder, even without that 'publicity backlog,' you have been avoiding appointing a president to the Supreme Court for about a year and a quarter, in an unprecedented manner in the State of Israel. This is another attempt to avoid appointing me as permanent president of the Supreme Court, just because I did not agree to discuss the 'deal' you offered me - agreement to my appointment in exchange for appointing candidates on your behalf to the Supreme Court.".
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In his letter, Judge Amit referred to publications regarding the alleged construction irregularities in his home, and claimed that the area on which it was alleged that a construction violation was committed is approximately 15 square meters in size and no violation was committed there, as claimed.
Judge Amit also clarifies, despite the allegations against him: "I have no intention of suspending my candidacy for the position of President of the Supreme Court.".
Yesterday, Levin wrote to Amit that he will not be appointed President of the Supreme Court until a thorough investigation into the allegations that recently surfaced against Amit is completed.
In a letter drafted by the minister, he asked his colleague to "act on the matter" and freeze his appointment.
In his letter, Levin referred to a series of publications in which allegations were made about Judge Amit's involvement in cases related to members of his family or other parties with personal ties. Among other things, the minister mentions cases in which cases were heard in court while Amit's brother served as a director at Bank Leumi, as well as cases in which questions were raised about his ties to the Tel Aviv municipality.
The minister also raised the issue of construction irregularities in the judge's house.
""It seems necessary to delay the selection process until a thorough examination is completed, which will examine all the claims raised in the publications and their implications, both from a factual and legal perspective. Only in this way can we ensure that the full picture is presented to the Judicial Selection Committee and to the public," Levin wrote.
The minister added that "full transparency is required to ensure public trust in the judicial system, and especially in the process of appointing the President of the Supreme Court.".
