Justice Sohlberg—who resides in West Bank settlement Alon Shvut—privately attended Gush Etzion golden jubilee ceremony with his family; Chief Justice Naor prohibited judiciary from officially attending and was aware of his participation; ‘The justice attended with his family, privately and not as a judiciary representative,’ court says.
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut, privately attended with his family the ceremony last week commemorating the golden jubilee since Israel first began construction in the area.
Chief Justice Miriam Naor was aware Sohlberg would attend the ceremony, despite the fact Naor announced the judiciary would not officially be sending a delegate to attend.
Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel was initially intending to attend the ceremony as the judiciary’s representative to the Gush Etzion ceremony, but only days before Chief Justice Naor decided to pull out of participating altogether, claiming it was a political event. Her decision was widely panned by government ministers.
Chief Justice Naor further elaborated on the decision Wednesday morning. “The event is a matter of public controversy. Therefore, and without the chief justice or any other justice expressing their opinion on the matter, Chief Justice Naor decided it would be inappropriate for the judiciary to participate,” a statement from Naor’s office said.
It was further stated that ethics rules stipulate representatives of the judiciary will not participate in an event with political or party undertones. Naor’s office added the judiciary will continue participating in state ceremonies, but abstain from controversial ones, especially a ceremony with “only one side receiving the platform.”
The Courts Administration Authority responded Tuesday morning to Sohlberg’s participation in the ceremony, saying, “The justice attended with his family as planned, privately and not as a judiciary representative. The chief justice was aware of his attendance and decided to not intervene.”
As reported by Ynetnews