Justice Minister Yariv Levin sends a letter calling on acting Supreme Court President Amit Isaac to withdraw his nomination to be chief justice on a permanent basis, citing reports claiming he oversaw cases in which he had a conflict of interest.
“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure the selection of the Supreme Court president will only be done after a probe into the claims is completed,” Levin writes to Amit.
The letter marks Levin’s latest effort to prevent the acting chief justice from being approved by the Judicial Selection Committee, the composition of which he is seeking to remake as part of his push to curb the judiciary’s independence, and comes ahead of a January 26 deadline that the court gave him to appoint its new president.
After Levin publishes the letter, Amit releases a statement in response, saying “I have no intention to surrender to the organized smear campaign that has recently been led against me, the entire purpose of which is to thwart my appointment as Supreme Court president and harm public trust in the judicial branch. This goal was set in advance.”
Amit also stresses that he won’t withdraw his candidacy, saying detailed responses “have been sent or will be sent” addressing the reported allegations, “which will disprove each one of them.”
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