BREAKING NEWS

High Court chief slams Likud minister's proposal to deny promotion to lenient judges

In a rare rebuke of a political figure that is certain to reignite the debate in Israel over governmental separation of powers, Supreme Court President Miriam Naor on Sunday criticized Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan for proposing that judges who hand down lenient sentences to Palestinian stone-throwers be passed over for promotion on the bench.
Naor accused Erdan of encroaching on the independence of Israel's judicial branch while attempting to violate "the principle of a judge's personal independence, which is a central tenet of a democratic regime."