Shaked: More judges to be named to address growing case backlog

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said on Tuesday that frequent appointments of new judges will continue as the backlog of cases awaiting hearings or decisions persists, despite the large number of judges already appointed on her watch.

Shaked spoke at a ceremony at the President’s Residence during which 14 new judges and registrars were appointed – primarily to district and magistrate’s courts in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Lod. Despite Jerusalem having the largest population in the country, there was only one appointment in the capital – to a magistrate’s court – and one in Eilat, which also was to a magistrate’s court.

There also was one appointment to the Tel Aviv Labor Court. Mindful of the current spate of labor disputes, National Labor Court President Yigal Plitman, said he welcomed the new appointee with open arms.

Addressing the appointees, President Reuven Rivlin drew inspiration from the first chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, which coincidentally is the Torah reading for this coming Sabbath, and which deals with the foundations of law.

One of the verses exhorts judges to be impartial in judgment, to hear the small and the great alike and not be intimidated by anyone.

Emphasizing the importance of listening keenly to both sides, Rivlin said this was an obligation in the pursuit of justice.

In her comments, Shaked said that aside from being obligated to rule fairly, judges must work harder and become more efficient.

Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, noting that the ceremony was only a few days away from Tisha Be’Av, spoke of baseless hatred, which she said has become much too pervasive.

Disputes, she said are perfectly legitimate in a pluralistic society in which there are many points of view, though she hastened to draw the line between a difference of opinion and baseless hatred: Pluralism, she said, does not harm national unity, whereas baseless hatred does.

Due to the three-week morning period that will culminate on Saturday night and Sunday with the commemoration of the destruction of the Temple, there were no musical interludes during the ceremony, nor was there the traditional toast as it is customary to abstain from wine, meat and music during the last nine days of the mourning period.