Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced his conclusions yesterday regarding the criminal investigation into Rabbi Metzger's actions during the Passover holiday of 2004. The rabbi was accused of having been a guest of a Jerusalem hotel for the holiday without paying. Mazuz said that there was not sufficient evidence to charge him, but that it would be appropriate for him to resign in any event. Mazuz further threatened to initiate an administrative procedure to depose the rabbi if he does not leave his post.
Rabbi Metzger, in response, said he would appeal against Mazuz in the Supreme Court. "He issued a ruling against me without giving me a chance to defend myself," the rabbi said, "while violating the basic civil rights that every citizen deserves."
Sources close to Mazuz were quoted as saying, "It's too bad that Rabbi Metzger is dragging us and the judicial system into a long degrading process." Others said it was Mazuz who had behaved inappropriately.
After deciding that Metzger should not be indicted yesterday, Mazuz added,
"In light of the defects in his behavior [in this matter], it would be appropriate for Rabbi Metzger to assume personal responsibility and decide on his own to resign... His continued service in his position is liable to strike a great blow at the standing of the Chief Rabbinate and the Supreme Rabbinical Court, and in public confidence in these institutions."
This extra-judicial opinion, however, is exactly the type Mazuz promised he would not issue. Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane reports that just weeks after assuming the position of Attorney General in early 2004, Mazuz said,
"I have said in the past on several occasions that I am against the writing of any public reports. In my opinion, there is a police investigation which must end with a recommendation... [Regarding the judicial process of deciding whether or not to indict,] this is not a matter of policy or perception, but rather an objective question. Either there is evidence or there is not, and the evidence is considered in an objective manner."
Mazuz's confidantes said at the time that he would not "engage in the worthless practice of issuing public reports that leave the suspect in the gray area - not guilty, but not quite innocent. Mazuz will cut sharply towards an indictment only if the evidence is well-grounded; if not, the file will be closed."
Upon taking office, Mazuz also said, "I intend to act to reduce the involvement of the Attorney General's office in the public-political sphere, and create a clearer and more formal separation zone between them."
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat and a former candidate for the post of Israel's Chief Rabbi, downplayed Mazuz's resignation recommendation. "I have trouble with the behavior of the Attorney General," the rabbi said, "who sees himself as a supreme judge, and who decrees a person's fate even without giving him a hearing or a chance to prove his innocence. This appears to be a case also of ganging up on rabbis and judicial tyranny."
Kiryat Ono's Rabbi Razton Arousi, the leading rabbi of the Yemenite community in Israel, similarly attacked Mazuz for having made such an announcement without ever having heard Rabbi Metzger on the matter. "According to all rules of law, the accused must be heard," Rabbi Arousi said. "According to all rules of natural justice, it is inconceivable, in this age of instant media, to publicize a dramatic announcement which is much more than a mere ruling, but is akin to spilling the blood of a high-standing personage."
On the other hand, MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union), a former Minister of Religious Affairs, said that Rabbi Metzger should suspend himself. "If, after he fights for his innocence, he is found to be clean, he can return to the Chief Rabbinate," Levy said.
The Ometz movement (Citizens for Good Government) informed Rabbi Metzger that if he resumes his participation in meetings of the Committee for Appointment of Religious Court judges - a practice he halted when the investigation against him began - it will turn to the Supreme Court against him.
Atty. Boaz HaEtzni told Arutz-7 today that Attorney General Mazuz's behavior is problematic: "He left Rabbi Metzger in limbo, by on the one hand not initiating his firing, but on the other condemning him. The rabbi thus finds himself without the ability to cleanse his name, which Mazuz has now stained."
Rabbi Metzger, in response, said he would appeal against Mazuz in the Supreme Court. "He issued a ruling against me without giving me a chance to defend myself," the rabbi said, "while violating the basic civil rights that every citizen deserves."
Sources close to Mazuz were quoted as saying, "It's too bad that Rabbi Metzger is dragging us and the judicial system into a long degrading process." Others said it was Mazuz who had behaved inappropriately.
After deciding that Metzger should not be indicted yesterday, Mazuz added,
"In light of the defects in his behavior [in this matter], it would be appropriate for Rabbi Metzger to assume personal responsibility and decide on his own to resign... His continued service in his position is liable to strike a great blow at the standing of the Chief Rabbinate and the Supreme Rabbinical Court, and in public confidence in these institutions."
This extra-judicial opinion, however, is exactly the type Mazuz promised he would not issue. Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane reports that just weeks after assuming the position of Attorney General in early 2004, Mazuz said,
"I have said in the past on several occasions that I am against the writing of any public reports. In my opinion, there is a police investigation which must end with a recommendation... [Regarding the judicial process of deciding whether or not to indict,] this is not a matter of policy or perception, but rather an objective question. Either there is evidence or there is not, and the evidence is considered in an objective manner."
Mazuz's confidantes said at the time that he would not "engage in the worthless practice of issuing public reports that leave the suspect in the gray area - not guilty, but not quite innocent. Mazuz will cut sharply towards an indictment only if the evidence is well-grounded; if not, the file will be closed."
Upon taking office, Mazuz also said, "I intend to act to reduce the involvement of the Attorney General's office in the public-political sphere, and create a clearer and more formal separation zone between them."
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat and a former candidate for the post of Israel's Chief Rabbi, downplayed Mazuz's resignation recommendation. "I have trouble with the behavior of the Attorney General," the rabbi said, "who sees himself as a supreme judge, and who decrees a person's fate even without giving him a hearing or a chance to prove his innocence. This appears to be a case also of ganging up on rabbis and judicial tyranny."
Kiryat Ono's Rabbi Razton Arousi, the leading rabbi of the Yemenite community in Israel, similarly attacked Mazuz for having made such an announcement without ever having heard Rabbi Metzger on the matter. "According to all rules of law, the accused must be heard," Rabbi Arousi said. "According to all rules of natural justice, it is inconceivable, in this age of instant media, to publicize a dramatic announcement which is much more than a mere ruling, but is akin to spilling the blood of a high-standing personage."
On the other hand, MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union), a former Minister of Religious Affairs, said that Rabbi Metzger should suspend himself. "If, after he fights for his innocence, he is found to be clean, he can return to the Chief Rabbinate," Levy said.
The Ometz movement (Citizens for Good Government) informed Rabbi Metzger that if he resumes his participation in meetings of the Committee for Appointment of Religious Court judges - a practice he halted when the investigation against him began - it will turn to the Supreme Court against him.
Atty. Boaz HaEtzni told Arutz-7 today that Attorney General Mazuz's behavior is problematic: "He left Rabbi Metzger in limbo, by on the one hand not initiating his firing, but on the other condemning him. The rabbi thus finds himself without the ability to cleanse his name, which Mazuz has now stained."