Justice Minister Tzipi Livni on Wednesday evening took the unprecedented step of inviting the press to the opening of the first meeting of the Judicial Appointments Committee under her leadership.There was significant public controversy surrounding the committee toward the end of the term of Livni’s predecessor, Yaakov Neeman. There were incidents in which judges were accused of having committed criminal or civil crimes. Supreme Court President Asher D. Grunis was even quoted as saying that some of the judges were “ticking time bombs” being kept on the bench so as not to harm their retirement benefits.Livni has campaigned to make the committee more transparent. However, as she has met with significant resistance, this time she settled for a press conference right outside the room where the committee was about to meet.“Choosing judges is not merely a question of professional quality, but also of judges who are humane and show social concern,” she told reporters.She noted that the courts “embody the democracy of the State of Israel and its values,” adding, “I believe that politics will remain outside this room [where the meeting was to occur], and that our work will be properly focused” to best serve Israel’s citizens.Also present at the news conference were Grunis, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Supreme Court justices and Knesset members.
