Today (Thursday) the Supreme Court unanimously responded to the petition, and ordered the cancellation of the appointment of the former Supreme Court judge, retired judge Meni Mazuz, as the chairman of the advisory committee for the appointment of senior officials in the civil service.
The judges noted that an appointment for a full term of 8 years is unlikely to be determined by a transitional government during an election period.
Mazoz announced in response that he would not be appointed temporarily: “I respect the court’s decision, even though I believe that the decision is wrong and does not align with the essence of the committee and its purpose. Under these circumstances, I will not be able to assume the position of chairman of the committee in the prescribed format.”
In doing so, the High Court responded to the petition of the Lavi organization, which claimed: “The appointment is unreasonable, and is an attempt to establish facts for the government that will be established after the elections. The appointment was made for extraneous reasons. The retired judge Mazuz is seen as a controversial person, painted in strong political colors, and this is due to his statements both during his tenure, and even more so after it. The observer from the side might get the impression that the political color of retired judge Mazuz is the basis of the prime minister’s desire to appoint him to the position of chairman of the advisory committee and leave it as the legacy of this government to future governments.”
The chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich, said, “I welcome the decision of the High Court of Justice to cancel the hijacking carried out by the transitional government with the appointment of Meni Mazuz. The double standard of the left has been exposed in all its glory. In the government that we form in Gaza, we will cancel the commissions for the appointment of senior officials and make sure that The avenue of senior officials in the civil service will be shaped by the elected officials of the national camp and not extreme leftists like Manny Mazuz.”
As I recall, Judge Noam Solberg proposed a compromise according to which Mazuz’s appointment to the position of chairman for 8 years would be canceled, and he would serve only for the purpose of examining the candidacy of Herzi Halevi for the position of Chief of Staff.
Spokesperson Gali Beharev Miara firmly refused this offer.