Netanyahu retracts changes to Israel Prize judging panels
Decision comes following attorney general’s request; PM says he’ll establish new judge selection criteria after elections
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday walked back his decision to remove several judges from the panels awarding the Israel Prize, after the attorney general called on him to refrain from taking such steps with elections looming.
Netanyahu has been facing mushrooming condemnation over claims he politicized the prestigious prize by removing judges over their political orientation, with a top Israeli author joining a growing boycott of the award on Thursday.
Weinstein’s message to the prime minister late Thursday meant that he wouldn’t defend Netanyahu’s decision to disqualify members of the judging panels if it were to be brought before the High Court of Justice.
In a written response to Weinstein’s message, the Prime Minister’s Office legal adviser, Shlomit Barnea Fargo, said that Netanyahu respected the attorney general’s instructions. She added that should Netanyahu be reelected, he will establish an advisory committee to establish new criteria for the appointment of Israel Prize judges.
The PMO confirmed that Netanyahu was reversing his decision to remove the judges, and not merely committing to refrain from further intervention in the prize. The ousted and resigned judges didn’t immediately say whether they would take up anew their positions on the judging panels, although President Reuven Rivlin encouraged them to return.
“The Israel Prize is dear to us all, on the right and left,” Rivlin said in a statement Friday afternoon. “It is a common denominator for all Israeli society, one of the last that remains, and represents a rare consensus of our spiritual, cultural, literary and scientific depth, and of our values as a people. Through it, the nation cherishes its select sons and daughters, and we must preserve and keep it safe.”
“Let us preserve the Israel Prize, for all our sake’s,” he added, urging the judges to return, along with the candidates who took themselves out of the running in protest.
Meretz party leader MK Zahava Gal-On, who along with other left-wing lawmakers has vocally opposed Netanyahu’s interference in the judge selection process, welcomed the attorney general’s decision on Friday, saying Weinstein had acted following encouragement from her. She rebuked the prime minister in a statement, saying, “It’s a good thing that we blocked Netanyahu’s dangerous attempt to turn the prize into a political game piece. The descent into fascism always begins by questioning the patriotism of people of culture and delegitimizing artists and their works.”
On Thursday, award-winning author David Grossman joined a string of nominees to bow out of the running for the Israel Prize in literature, after it emerged that the prime minister had disqualified two members of the judging panel, apparently for political reasons. A third judge was removed from the panel for the cinema prize.
The affair has led to the mass resignation of the rest of the literature panel and announcements by several authors that they were withdrawing their candidacies for the prize, considered the country’s most prestigious, leading to fears that it could be canceled.
Grossman told Channel 10 on Thursday that he pulled out in response to the “prime minister’s campaign of incitement,” calling it an attack on “freedom of thought.”
The author, known for political activism and support for a Palestinian state, called Netanyahu’s actions a “cynical and destructive coup that violates freedom of spirit and mind.”
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Netanyahu said the panel was controlled by judges with “extremist views” on the far left of the political spectrum, such as encouraging soldiers not to serve in the army. He said the committee should reflect a broader swath of the public.
The Israel Prize — in the categories of literature, sciences and the arts — is awarded each spring on the day of the Jewish state’s independence.
Amos Oz, an internationally renowned author, charged that Netanyahu was trying to suppress freedom of expression. “He does not just want to replace the committee, he wants to replace the writers and judges too,” he told Channel 2. “The truth is, he would probably replace the media if he could.”
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister’s Office said it reviewed the panel’s composition after learning that one of the judges, Prof. Ariel Hirschfeld, had supported conscientious objectors in the Israel Defense Forces. In an unprecedented move, he and Prof. Avner Holtzman were removed from their posts.
Responding to the prime minister’s explanation, Hirschfeld said, “The prime minister took it upon himself to determine the degree of Zionism of people who devote their whole life to Israeli culture.”
Some in the literary community have called Netanyahu’s move a “purge,” likening him to a Soviet dictator.
Author Sami Michael, who also took himself out of the running for the prize this week, told Haaretz Thursday that he would like to see all the nominees for the literature award withdraw their candidacy in protest at Netanyahu’s meddling. “I’m aware that there’s an ugly atmosphere in the clique-filled literary world,” he told the newspaper. “But it’s very dangerous for a politician, however lofty his position, to take upon himself the job of cleaning the literary stables.”
The Zionist Union party, battling Netanyahu’s Likud ahead of the March 17 elections, filed a complaint with the State Comptrollers Office over Netanyahu’s intervention Thursday night.
The Education Ministry fears that the prize may not be awarded at all this year since other scholars and public figures are likely to avoid associating with the award, making establishing a replacement panel and re-nominating candidates extremely difficult, Haaretz reported earlier this week.
AP and AFP contributed to this report.
