Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish defended herself and the court system by going on the offensive Tuesday. "Judges have become targets of irrelevant criticism," she said in a speech at a swearing-in ceremony for new judges. "Quite a few elements, especially among those who fear the legitimate status and power of the judicial system, are quick to criticize judges, undermine their professional integrity and aim arrows of suspicions of a personal nature against them, without checking and without foundation."
"In recent years we see a new trend, aimed at illegitimate ends, that is intended to shine a negative light on the judicial system," Beinish said. "The elements involved seek power and influence in the political arena. They are suspects that have had to deal with the institutions of law and justice and are interested in weakening it [sic], and they are people who are accused, or were accused, and either convicted or acquitted."
Beinish continued: "They are often interested, in an unseemly way, in weakening the central institution of society that is not connected to the political system, an institution that does not seek to increase its power and has no competitive interest in the aggressive world, that does not seek media storms and often finds itself in their center, against its will, because of the nature of its occupation and role."
The media, too, is to blame, said Beinish. "As part of the culture that has taken over our society – the rating culture – which seeks short range media accomplishments, the various media are motivated by political, business and economic interests, in a way that encourages campaigns against the judicial system and the courts."
Most pundits have taken Beinish's public attack – the second such attack in three days – to refer to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and possibly to President Katzav and former minister MK Chaim Ramon. Katzav's supporters have created a website which blasts the legal system's handling of the Katzav case, and the Chaim Ramon trial was branded by opinion makers on both sides of the political spectrum as a sham. 
Ben-Or gave Beinish's daughter Daniela a job in her department... Beinish is now rewarding her
Acting President and Knesset Chairwoman Dalia Itzik, who also spoke at the swearing in ceremony, gently chided Beinish. "It is all right to voice criticism of the court system too, and not all criticism should be interpreted as an attack on the judicial system or an attempt to harm the court," Itzik said. "It is true that court proceedings have an important place in democratic society, which respects the rule of law, but it is not desirable for the court proceedings to replace all other forms of discourse" – an oblique reference to the Supreme Court's habit of shooting down laws passed by the Knesset, and to what former SC President Aharon Barak called "judicial activism."
Itzik admitted that tensions between the executive, legislative and judicial branches have sharpened lately, but said that she does not see that as a bad thing, necessarily. "I only recoil from a situation in which the branches do not listen to each other, and from the feeling that one is swallowing the other."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's appointment of Prof. Daniel Friedmann as Justice Minister is seen by many observers as a direct challenge to the position of uncontested power the Supreme Court has enjoyed in recent years. Friedmann was extremely critical of the Ramon trial, and this week blocked the appointment of Nava Ben-Or, a Beinish protégé, to the Jerusalem District Court. Friedmann and three other members of the Committee for Judicial Appointments voted to prevent Ben-Or's appointment because of her role in approving hundreds of illegal wiretaps carried out by the police against public figures – an affair that was exposed in 2005 and led to a shakeup in top police ranks.
According to news website NFC, Ben-Or, who was head of the Criminal Division in the State Prosecution, gave Beinish's daughter Daniela a job in her department and promoted her to senior status without carrying out a tender as required by law. Media criticism forced Daniela Beinish to leave the job eventually, but according to NFC, Beinish is now attempting to reward Ben-Or for her efforts.
Beinish is seen as continuing the "judicial activism" approach of former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak. A recent article by Richard A. Posner in the New Republic analyzes Barak's term. At the Annual Conference of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists held at the Washington College of Law on March 23, 2007, a session's topic was The Fundamental Principles of a Constitution for the State of Israel. In the audio recording of the session, Dr. Pnina Lahav defends Barak's judicial approach at the 9:10 minute mark. Attorney Nathan Lewin sharply criticizes Aharon Barak's judicial philosophy and actions at the 65:34 minute mark.