Bench warmers
Two names stand out among the current crop of Supreme Court nominees: former Attorney General Menachem (Meni) Mazuz and Tel Aviv District Court Judge George Karra. Their potential appointment to the bench merits public discussion.
Mazuz's nomination was announced at the last minute. There is long list of good reasons to appoint him, and the list has grown even longer since MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) launched a vitriolic attack against Mazuz on Thursday. Ben-Ari said that if Mazuz is confirmed the Palestinian faction Fatah will wield even greater influence over the judiciary. This must have been one of Ben-Ari's good days. After all, he could have opted to equate Mazuz to Hamas.
Even though his family descends from Tunisia, Mazuz cannot be considered one of the Mizrahi [Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent] nominees for the bench. He cannot be considered a champion for areas outside of central Israel, despite having grown up in Netivot. Mazuz has a superb legal mind and is levelheaded; he has insight and intellect; he has integrity and the capacity to withstand challenges that come with taking on the high and mighty. This is further proof that he is worthy of the job. It is also why Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman and his cohorts in the Judicial Selection Committee will see to it that Mazuz is not confirmed.
Surely, his career has had its fair share of mistakes. I never understood his decision not to prosecute Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's family members who had been suspected of corruption in the Greek Island affair. The same goes for the plea bargain he had initially offered to former President [and convicted rapist] Moshe Katsav. However, there is no attorney general who has not made mistakes throughout such a long and distinguished career. What counts is the quantity and severity of his errors.
Mazuz's approach when confronting corruption was both sensible and determined. He indicted Katsav (thus correcting his earlier mishap), as well as former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson, former Justice Minister Haim Ramon and other public figures. All the while, he served as a punching bag for two justice ministers and one cabinet member who had returned from doing time in prison. He withstood all these attacks without ever losing his composure, always held his head up high and showed restraint and respect that can only be described as exemplary; he blocked wrongheaded initiatives hatched on coalition or government drawing boards.
Currently Mazuz stands little chance of being confirmed. The sons of darkness have formed a united front to block his path which is reason enough to support his candidacy. As German theorist Carl Schmitt put it, "Tell me who your enemy is, and I will tell you who you are."
The other candidate is George Karra, whose nomination was reported by this paper several weeks ago. He merits attention because he is an expert on criminal law. He is deterred by no one, to the point that the state had to provide him with a protective detail after being threatened by members of organized crime. With Justice Edmond Levy set to retire from the bench, the court needs someone well-versed in criminal litigation. Karra would be a natural choice.
He is qualified not just because of the harsh and uncompromising verdict he wrote when convicting Moshe Katsav a well-deliberated decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court. He is fit for the job not because he is a Christian Arab and the right age he is qualified because of his legal and professional credentials.
The nomination of Mazuz and Karra should not overshadow the other nominees whose names do not enjoy such recognition among the general public. It is safe to assume that some of those other nominees are qualified as well, perhaps even all of them. This would make the choice much more difficult. They might also meet the same criteria that Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, outlines when the former asks for advice: "Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain" (JPS Bible). The scales of professionalism will ultimately tip in favor of those who are more qualified.
Mazuz and Karra should find themselves at the top of the list not because they jockeyed for better position, but because they chose not to.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו