The Committee for Selection of Judges has picked former Attorney General Menachem (“Menny”) Mazuz and Judge Anat Baron to serve as Supreme Court judges.
They will replace Edna Arbel, who retired three months ago, and current Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, who will retire in January upon reaching age 70.
Judge Miriam Naor will become the new court President. She is considered very leftist, and her term as president is viewed with trepidation by nationalists.
Mazuz was appointed attorney general in 2004, as Ariel Sharon's government was preparing the Gaza Disengagement. At the time, nationalists suspected that the appointment was conditional on Mazuz's cooperation with the legally problematic Disengagement, but no collusion could be proved.
He was also criticized by women's organizations for agreeing to a plea bargain with disgraced president Moshe Katzav, who had been accused of sexual offenses. Katzav, who inisisted upon his innocence, eventually rejected the bargain but was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Baron was appinted to the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court in 1991 and was promoted to the District Court 11 years later.