Report: High Court chief Hayut cancels ceremony marking her retirement in protest

Supreme Court President Esther Hayut has reportedly canceled the ceremony at the President’s Residence marking her retirement from the bench, as a sign of protest against Justice Minister’s Yariv Levin’s behavior.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Hayut has canceled the expected event due to Levin’s refusal to appoint a replacement court president.

Kan also reports that Hayut has requested that Levin not speak at an upcoming ceremony marking the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anat Baron. A statement from the judicial authority published by Kan notes that it does not believe such a speech would be appropriate, due to a number of open cases involving Levin himself.

The public broadcaster also suggests that Hayut believes Levin would use the speech to criticize the justices, rather than to speak nicely about Baron, as is generally expected.