Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch has sent a public letter to Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann in which she attacks him with unprecedented vitriol and accuses him of causing "strife and discord." The letter, copies of which were sent to representatives of the press, accuses Friedmann of purposely destroying the judicial system's present structure, undermining Beinish's own status and creating a situation on which court presidents are dependent on the justice minister.
Beinisch's ire was aroused by Friedmann's initiative to create search committees for District Court and Magistrates' Court presidents and their deputies.
Beinisch writes that it is "unthinkable" to carry out reforms such as these without consulting with her first. True, the appointments are within Friedmann's purview, she writes, but they require her approval. Therefore, "the legality of the proposed regulations is in doubt, and they fly in the face of the constitutional tradition which the judicial system has followed for many years."