Precedent in the judicial system: Shin Bet checked Qadi candidates - and led to their disqualification
First publication: For the first time, a security opinion on candidates was transferred to the Committee for the Appointment of Qadis even before the vote on their appointments. Following information about the connection of some of them to the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, the committee decided not to discuss their candidacy. The check was conducted at the request of ministers Struck and Amsalem.
For the first time ever, the Shin Bet sent an opinion on judicial candidates to the Committee for the Appointment of Qadis, leading to their disqualification. This was learned by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. The reason for the disqualification was the candidates' ties to the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which has been declared an illegal association.
The members of the committee who requested the Shin Bet to express its opinion on this sensitive issue were ministers David Amsalem and Orit Struck. The Committee for the Appointment of Sharia Court Judges operates under the Ministry of Justice, similar to the Judicial Selection Committee. The Sharia court is an important and central institution for Muslims, who make up about 20% of the country's citizens. Similar to the Rabbinical court that deals with matters of Jews, the Sharia court deals with issues of personal status and family. The courts are spread throughout the country, and above them is the High Sharia Court of Appeals, which sits in Jerusalem.
In addition to ministers David Amsalem and Orit Struck, the committee includes senior Sharia court officials, representatives of the Bar Association, and Knesset members Ahmad Tibi, Mansour Abbas, and Yinon Azoulay. About a month ago, the committee convened to discuss and select candidates for judgeships. At that meeting, they were presented with a Shin Bet opinion regarding all the candidates. The opinion was submitted following the committee's request after Minister Struck demanded at a previous meeting that the service examine whether there was a connection between candidates and terrorist organizations.
In the opinion submitted by the Shin Bet to the committee, a table was presented with the names of all the candidates and the results of the check conducted by the Shin Bet. According to the Shin Bet's check, several candidates were found to have ties to the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. After a stormy discussion in the committee, it was decided that following the opinion, they should be disqualified and their appointments should not be discussed.
As mentioned, this is the first time that the Shin Bet has conducted a check on judicial candidates and submitted it to committee members as part of the information material upon which the committee must make a decision. According to the law, the Shin Bet conducts security clearance checks for judges of all instances because they are expected to be exposed to classified information. However, not only are they not exposed to clearance in the Sharia courts, but the results of the security agency's check are not submitted to committee members and are conducted only after a judge has already been selected. Thus, in an unprecedented manner, a Shin Bet opinion on candidates was submitted to committee members before the selection of the candidate for judgeship.
The demand by ministers Struck and Amsalem for Shin Bet intervention in the process did not come out of a vacuum. In the subcommittees of the Committee for the Appointment of Qadis, where committee members interview candidates, Struck revealed that she had conducted a check on candidates herself. She found a candidate who had written problematic posts, and after being asked about it in the committee, the candidate decided not to run for the position and deleted the posts. Another candidate included in the list of recommenders provided to the committee Hussein al-Tarturi, who served in 2007 as a minister in the Hamas government led by Ismail Haniyeh. Consequently, the committee decided not to appoint the candidate to the position of Qadi.
