By The Jerusalem Post (World News) | Created at 2024-11-19 22:55:06 | Updated at 2024-11-20 01:16:52
2 hours ago
The Attorney General dropped the demand for a search committee to select a Civil Service Commissioner but added conditions that may restrict Netanyahu's choice.
By AVRAHAM BLOCH NOVEMBER 20, 2024 00:49
Illustrative photo of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara in front of the Knesset building.
(photo credit: TASOS KATOPODIS/REUTERS/MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST, YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
The Attorney General is backing down from her position that an appointment cannot be made without a search committee, but is setting conditions for appointing a Civil Service Commissioner without one.
According to the Attorney General's position, "First, the committee will operate with ongoing legal counsel from the Prime Minister's Office's legal advisor and her representatives." This will allow the Attorney General to maintain control over committee proceedings through the PM Office's legal advisor, who reports to her.
"Second, the committee will establish in writing, in advance, threshold conditions and criteria for job suitability before presenting a potential candidate," the statement continued.
"We remind that regarding this condition, the Deputy Attorney General noted in his letter of 3.11.24 that following the professional process conducted by the special appointments committee that operated in 2018 to determine threshold conditions and criteria for the position, the committee should operate similarly this time, and hear or receive written material from relevant professional figures in the civil service, past and present, and from the third sector as detailed above, to adapt the threshold conditions and criteria to the current challenges of public service."
The Attorney General's third condition was that "committee members who are public representatives will be chosen with approval from the Prime Minister's Office's legal advisor, according to the rotation for selecting public representatives for appointment committees in the civil service."
New representatives cannot be appointed at this time
"At this point, new public representatives cannot be appointed to the special committee in addition to those already serving," the statement said.
This move will restrict the ability to appoint Netanyahu's preferred candidate as the next Commissioner.
