Justice Minister Asks One-Year Suspension for Judge in Case 4000

Judge Ronit Poznanski-Katz has been found guilty of inappropriate behavior for her part in the text messaging scandal in Case 4000, one of the corruption cases against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In leaked messages, Poznanski-Katz was caught orchestrating a detention request with a representative of the Israel Securities Authority, attorney Eran Shacham-Shavit.

In one statement, which has since become notorious, he advised her to “look surprised” when the request came before her in court. Poznanski-Katz quipped in reply: “I am starting to work on an appropriate expression of total surprise.”

While the disciplinary court decision on her punishment will be announced at a later time, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked asked on Monday that the court impose a one-year suspension and a further ban on engaging in criminal law for an additional two years, according to a Ynet report.

A Disciplinary Tribunal for Judges headed by retired President Justice Asher Grunis, High Court Justice Neil Hendel and Vice President of the Nazareth District Court, Justice Esther Hellman, ruled that she was guilty of conduct in a manner that is not appropriate to the status of a judge in Israel, and in violation of the Rules of Ethics for Judges.

The finding was in accordance with the confession made by Poznanski-Katz, which said that she and the deputy prosecutor conducted correspondences regarding the case, that should not have been held between the prosecution’s representative and the judge who presided over the proceedings.