Court hearing on former speaker Edelstein accidentally published online
The judiciary approached to the parties on Sunday to ask whether they opposed its publication and to obtain retroactive permission to release the recording.
By MATAN VASSERMAN/MAARIVKnesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein announces that he will leave the role, March 25, 2020(photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
The video of a court discussion regarding former Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein was uploaded online this week. Then, in an unusual move, the judiciary approached to the parties on Sunday to ask whether they opposed its publication and to obtain retroactive permission to release the recording. The parties did not object.Late last month, Israel's High Court held a discussion on the petition against Edelstein for his refusal to convene the Knesset to discuss replacing him, despite 61 MKs requesting it. Due to coronavirus restrictions, which prevented gatherings of more than 30 people at the time, the discussion had to be held in one hall - Hall C - and the session live-streamed and recorded with CCTV cameras in Hall B, where journalists were seated.On Sunday, it was found that the discussion was uploaded to several websites, including YouTube and Vimeo. After several journalists wrote that the video was available, it was removed from Vimeo, though is still available on other platforms, probably due to users who have downloaded the video and uploaded elsewhere.Following the video leak, the judges made their decision in the case public: "It was brought to our attention that this broadcast, despite being in CCTV, prior to the launch of the experimental project of direct broadcast from High Court of Justice, was put online without permission. Under these circumstances, and with the authority given by the court, we are examining the option of allowing the publishing of this broadcast retroactively. As such, we are asking all sides involved in the case to let us know if they have any reservations regarding it being made available to the public by Sunday at 8:30 p.m."
