Yehuda Weinstein
Yehuda WeinsteinYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

The Movement for Governability and Democracy has charged Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein with breaching election laws and the the attorney general's guidelines, after he adorned outgoing Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua) with abundant praise at a farewell ceremony in the Justice Ministry as she left her post.

Livni was fired along with Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) on Tuesday by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who called snap elections over what he termed their "putsch" attempt.

Weinstein said in the ceremony Thursday that Livni is "the guardian of democracy," and added "it seems to me that the public in Israel can't give up on your skills, your honesty and your abilities."

The attorney general in fact echoed Livni, who previously said she would guard "democracy" in her opposition to the Jewish State Law, which seeks to enshrine Israel's status as the nation-state of the Jewish people and strengthen the Jewish nature of the country along with its democratic elements.

The Movement for Governability and Democracy on Thursday wrote to Netanyahu, who holds the legal portfolio and essentially functions above the attorney general.

"A reality in which the attorney general of the country allows himself to act against the law, or even in the gray area of the law, can't be allowed, especially when we are dealing with invalid involvement in elections proceedings," wrote the movement.

Yehuda Amrani, head of the movement, wrote to Netanyahu in the letter "I ask you to act accordingly to your authority as prime minister and justice minister, and take the steps at your disposal against the attorney general."

The letter, which was also sent to Central Elections Committee chairperson Judge Salim Joubran, included a clause from the election laws determining that state employees can not take part in election propaganda.

Likewise, the letter noted that Weinstein also breached the guidelines of the attorney general, which state "a description of personal achievements of the minister or of a worker in the ministry," or an announcement "that has an emphasis and preference for controversial policy in the public that isn't in the frame of clear declared policy of the ministry," is forbidden in election periods.

The movement argued that Weinstein's statement that "the public in Israel can't give up on your skills" is election propaganda, and his references to Livni as a "guardian of democracy" in context of the Jewish State Law "are surprising and raise difficulties in context of the obligation on state workers to avoid propaganda."