Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Supreme Court Justice Daphne Barak Erez arrives for a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, May 31, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice rules unanimously that Justice Minister Yariv Levin is obligated to convene the Judicial Selection Committee in order to appoint judges to district courts, something he has refused to do since January 2025.
The court says that priority should be given to the Beersheba and Haifa district courts, which are short five judges and three judges, respectively.
The court notes that Levin’s refusal to convene the committee and make judicial appointments has created a severe dearth of judges on numerous courts around the country, which has harmed the courts’ ability to enforce the law and serve the public.
Following pressure from the court, Levin agreed this month to make appointments to magistrates’ courts, but refused to make appointments to district courts, proposing to appoint temporary judges instead.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a special plenum session in honor of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 25, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
But the High Court insists that district court appointments must be made too, as quickly as possible.
It orders Levin to publish a list of candidates in the State Gazette by June 8, in order to have the requisite 45 days to deliberate on the candidates before a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee can be held.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, May 31, 2026
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