High Court declines to delay Levin’s pending appointment of Sde Teiman investigation supervisor

The High Court of Justice declines to delay the implementation of its ruling allowing Justice Minister Yariv Levin to appoint a supervisor for the criminal investigation into the Sde Teiman video leak affair.

The liberal Israel Democracy Guard organization filed the request for a delay as part of a petition seeking an additional hearing on the matter in front of an expanded panel of justices, arguing that the ruling earlier this week set an unprecedented principle enabling political involvement in a criminal process. The organization argued this requires greater judicial scrutiny.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit writes in response that there is no reason to accept the request at present, since Levin has yet to formally appoint a supervisor.

He says, however, that the request may be evaluated once a supervisor has been appointed, and asks the government for its response to the request for an additional hearing with an expanded panel.

Levin announced on Tuesday his intention to appoint retired District Court judge Yosef Ben-Hamo, in a letter to Acting Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz.

If Hershkowitz responds favorably, Levin will make the appointment formal.

Separately, Haaretz reports that Levin submitted the candidacy of Ben-Hamo’s son, Tomer Shlomo Ben-Hamo, to be a traffic court judge to the Judicial Selection Committee, which Levin chairs, in July 2024.

The report says that the justice minister worked to get Ben-Hamo junior’s candidacy approved, and the Judicial Selection Committee made the appointment unanimously.