Deputy AG returning to Knesset despite opposition from justice minister
Dina Zilber to represent attorney general at upcoming committee meeting, weeks after Shaked called for her ouster over her criticism of government legislation
Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber has confirmed she will participate in a Knesset committee meeting next week, Hadashot news reported Tuesday, despite calls for her ouster by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked after she harshly criticized legislation at a recent Knesset meeting.
According to Hadashot, Zilber will represent the attorney general’s office next Monday at the State Control Committee’s meeting addressing “the status and appointment of gatekeepers and civil servants and how to protect them.”
In response to the report Shaked’s office blasted Zilber for allegedly discussing the matter with the media, and said the justice minister “stands by her decision.”
Zilber drew the ire of right-wing lawmakers on November 6, when she slammed the so-called “Loyalty in Culture” bill during a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee. She said the legislation, which threatens to strip state funding for cultural institutions that produce art seen as overly critical of the government or the state, “poses real difficulties.”
The bill would transfer the authority to cut culture funding from the Finance Ministry to the Culture Ministry headed by Culture Minister Miri Regev.
The authority that the legislation aims to grant the Culture Ministry creates “a cooling and self-censoring effect,” Zilber told lawmakers at the meeting, adding: “The country is changing. These are not simple days and they are bringing us not only new laws but… confrontational dialogue, the wounding and scarring of our shared social fabric, labeling and branding — who is for us and who is against us.” She accused lawmakers of seeking “obedient legal advisers, compliant artists, a complacent media, and a deferential public with a single unified opinion.”
On Monday, the bill was blocked from advancing in the Knesset after the coalition failed to secure a majority for its passage.
Shaked slammed Zilber’s comments as unprofessional, saying in a complaint letter to her boss, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, that it was “clear that she does not wish to act professionally and honestly as a legal adviser.” She suggested Zilber would be a better fit as a candidate for political office, but had “crossed every line” as a public servant and should be removed from her post.
After temporarily suspending Zilber’s Knesset appearances and holding a disciplinary inquiry into her comments, Mandelblit announced he would not fire his deputy, but sent her a letter chastising her behavior, and said the politically loaded terminology she had used had harmed the Attorney General’s Office.
Shaked hit back at Mandelblit’s decision and insisted she would not allow Zilber participate in Knesset committee meetings during the current parliamentary session, which is expected to last until March.
Later, Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon informed committee chairs that they did not have the authority to deny Zilber access if she was sent by Mandelblit to represent him.
