In the shadow of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision not to divide the position into two, the search for a new Attorney General continues. The incumbent Menachem Mazuz is scheduled to leave the position just over ten weeks from now.
A search committee is charged with choosing three candidates for Attorney-General, from which the government is to pick one. The committee did not reach any conclusions at its meeting on Wednesday, and will convene again before the end of the week.
Committee members report that the atmosphere is not as politically charged as it had been until now, following Netanyahu's decision not to follow Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman’s advice to divide the position of Attorney General into two. The issue was a heavily charged one, with proponents of the change saying it is the only way to ensure that the Attorney General can make decisions of national import without being politically beholden to the Cabinet ministers with whom he comes into daily contact.
After weeks of speculation, Netanyahu decided this week that the issue was too involved and complex for a quick decision, and that the status quo would remain at least through the term of the next Attorney General.
Minister Ne’eman is reportedly not considering resigning at this stage, though he may change his mind if he sees that his plan remains shelved in the coming months.
Jerusalem attorney Naftali Wurtzberger told Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine on Wednesday that though the Attorney General's position is a professional one, “there is no doubt that his political views will affect the way he fulfills his job. For instance, if he decides not to represent the government in a court case regarding security matters, the case is basically lost.”
“The position is unique to Israel,” Wurtzberger explained. “In many questions that come up between left and right, or on various issues of Jewish identity, the Attorney General has a critical status.”
Wurtzberger praised search committee members MK Yariv Levine and former Justice Minister Moshe Nissim, both of the Likud, for “seeking to find someone who has a basically Jewish outlook.”