Sa’ar reopens candidates list for Supreme Court justices amid gridlock

Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar informed members of the Judicial Selection Committee on Tuesday that he was reopening the list of candidates for a spot on the Supreme Court after none of the previous candidates could be agreed upon.

In a letter to the committee’s members, Sa’ar said that names could be added to the list of potential candidates until January 6.

A month ago, Sa’ar froze the committee’s activities after no consensus could be reached on nominations. The panel is tasked with naming four new justices to the Supreme Court: two to replace retired judges Menachem Mazuz and Hanan Melcer, and two to replace Neal Hendel and George Kara, who will be stepping down next year.

But after ongoing infighting, the politically diverse panel was unable to agree on any of the current 24 candidates. The committee, headed by Sa’ar, also includes Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who is No. 2 in Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s right-wing Yamina party; liberal-leaning Supreme Court Justices Esther Hayut, Uzi Vogelman and Isaac Amit; Israel Bar Association Attorneys Ilana Seker and Muhammad Na’aman; MK Simcha Rothman from the far-right Religious Zionism Party; and MK Efrat Rayten from the center-left Labor party.

Earlier this month, Sa’ar tapped Shaul Shohat, the deputy president of the Tel Aviv District Court, for a temporary, six-month tenure on the Supreme Court amid the ongoing gridlock. Such a step, agreed to by Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, had not been taken for 14 years. Shohat’s temporary role could theoretically be extended by Sa’ar for an additional six months, and he could appoint another temporary justice if the impasse continues.

Shaked and Rothman are lobbying for more conservative-leaning judges to be appointed, while Hayut and other members of the panel have been pushing for liberal justices.