Israel’s Judicial Ombudsman, retired Judge Asher Kula, has rejected complaints filed against two judges—one who signed a court decision on Shabbos and another whose home was used for what was alleged to be a political gathering—while recommending that similar incidents be avoided in the future.
In a detailed ruling, Kula also sharply criticized what he called the growing phenomenon of “public complainants” filing complaints based solely on media reports without conducting independent verification.
One complaint centered on Judge Michael Karshen, who signed a routine court decision on Shabbos. The complainants argued that issuing judicial decisions on Shabbos unnecessarily offended religious court users.
A Shomer Shabbos attorney involved in the case told the Ombudsman’s office that he inadvertently checked his phone on Shabbos after receiving an alert from the court’s electronic filing system, believing it might relate to his military reserve service. He later discovered it was merely a routine court decision. While describing the experience as painful, he stressed that he held no personal grievance against the judge and only hoped similar incidents would be prevented.
Judge Karshen explained that he is not Shomer Shabbos and occasionally works on weekends because of his workload. He said the decision was purely technical and that he unintentionally signed it before Shabbos had ended, expressing regret that the notification reached a Shomer Shabbos attorney.
Kula accepted the explanation, stating that while judges should be mindful that religious attorneys receive automatic notifications, the incident appeared to have resulted from an honest oversight rather than intentional disregard. He recommended that the court system reinforce existing guidance discouraging judges from issuing non-urgent decisions on Shabbos.
The Ombudsman also dismissed a complaint against Judge Yifat Mishori after reports claimed a political gathering had been held at her home.
Following an investigation, Kula accepted Mishori’s explanation that the event was not political in nature and that no political figures participated. Nevertheless, he remarked that, as a general principle, political events should not be held in the homes of judges, even if the judge is not personally involved.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
