News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, who serves on the Committee to Select Judges, announced on Sunday that he was removing his support for the nomination of Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Drori to the Supreme Court. Erdan was one of three committee members to sign on the nomination, along with Members of Knesset David Rotem and Uri Ariel. Three signatures are needed, so if nobody signs in place of MK Erdan, the nomination will be quashed.

Drori's nomination has met with opposition because of a recent ruling in the matter of an assault against a cashier of Ethiopian origin that some say reflected a racist approach. Drori acquitted the attacker in a 300-page long ruling because he did not want to hurt the man's chances to be nominated to a rabbinical court, and because he asked for forgiveness.

In a letter to Justice Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman, who chairs the committee, Erdan said that he read the ruling, and does not think Drori was motivated by racism. However, he does think that the ruling reflects badly on Drori's priorities as a judge, and its length is unjustified.

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