Chief Justice Naor
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Supreme Court president: There's incitement against judges
Chief Justice Miriam Naor warns of 'incitement and threats in the guise of criticism,' adding that 'criticism that has no basis is not worthy.'
Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor urges Israeli judges on Thursday not to be influenced by threats and slander against them, and remain open to relevant and legitimate criticism.
"There's no option of being influenced by the threats and slander. Surrendering to threats is a distortion of justice," Justice Naor said at a swearing-in ceremony for new judges.
She said only the law ought to guide a judge, noting that "There are unacceptable considerations, and that makes our decisions paradoxically simple."
Cief Justice Miriam Naor. (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
She defined criticism of judges as "desired, important, natural, and understandable," and added that "verdicts are not given in a vacuum. They influence the lives of the litigants. They affect – some more, some less – the public at large. Criticism is important since it stands at the heart of free speech."
Naor spoke the difference between criticism and incitement, even mentioning a recent controversial verdict by the Tel Aviv District Court, which gave convicted rapist Yaniv Nahman a very light sentence of six months of community service, remarking, "We must distinguish between relevant and worthwhile criticism, and incitement and threats in the guise of criticism – which must not be accepted. Criticism that has no basis, that is spoken with an unbridled and invective tongue, is not worthy.”
