Judge (illustrative)
Judge (illustrative)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Supreme Court President Asher Grunis and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni decided, Friday, that a resident of central Israel, suspected of violence against his children, will return to work as a trial judge at the beginning of next year. However, he will not handle criminal cases, including juvenile and family matters.

The anonymous judge took a voluntary leave of absence in February after Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved a police request to interrogate him on the allegations accusing him of abuse.

The first complaint was filed three years ago, after the judge reportedly confessed to one of his children’s teachers that he beat his children, yet expressed regret for doing so. The teacher notified social services of the problem at the time. 

Additional reports subsequently resurfaced at the beginning of the year and he was investigated under warning of prosecution in March.

When the scandal broke out, the family of the judge issued a press release stating: 

"We are going through a rocky and difficult period, but we know how to deal with it despite the difficulties. We request that you bear in mind that this is dealing with a father, mother, children, and grandparents, and that you should report about it with appropriate responsibility."

Livni and Grunis said that the judge will return to his duties on January 1, 2014, handling civil cases only, and will no longer judge any criminal cases, including youth and family cases.

It was decided that he will issue rulings in the beginning of September on cases that were otherwise finished before the leave of absence. Except for the criminal matters, his first order of business in January will be those cases which he was hearing when his leave started.