High Court slams brakes on new IDF chief appointment amid vetting panel controversy
Noting government’s caretaker status, justices question why former top judge Mazuz, selected to lead appointments committee, shouldn’t get a temporary posting only
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The High Court of Justice on Wednesday challenged the decision to appoint Menachem “Meni” Mazuz as chairman of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee on a permanent basis, despite the government serving in an interim capacity ahead of an election.
In response to a petition by the right-wing lobby Lavi, High Court Justices Noam Sohlberg, Yael Willner, and Ruth Ronnen ordered the government to explain why it could not make Mazuz’s appointment a temporary one, citing legal restrictions on the appointment of senior officials by an interim government.
The move throws a wrench in the works of the process to appoint a new IDF chief of staff, as the appointments panel must sign off on the choice. If the issue is not resolved, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi may not be able to take the reins of the military in January as planned.
Mazuz, a former attorney general and Supreme Court justice, was appointed chair of the committee for an eight-year period last month, in a step that generated fierce objections from the opposition and right-wing lobbying groups, due to the judge’s liberal positions.
The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee is responsible for vetting candidates for top positions such as heads of the IDF, Israel Police, Shin Bet and Mossad. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara approved Mazuz’s appointment amid an election due to the urgent need to select a new army chief to attend to security challenges.
Hebrew media reports indicate Mazuz has rejected the possibility he would agree to an appointment as an interim panel head.
On Sunday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz nominated Halevi to serve as the IDF chief of staff and replace Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, whose tenure ends in January 2023.
The selection of the liberal Mazuz as chair of the appointments committee was bitterly opposed by right-wing parties in the opposition who objected to the veteran jurist on political grounds and decisions he made in relation to demonstrations against the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, when he served as attorney general.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked welcomed the High Court’s position on Wednesday, noting she had made the same arguments in the cabinet before Mazuz’s appointment.
Shaked wrote to Prime Minister Yair Lapid calling on him to adopt the court’s position.
The government has until September 15 to respond to the court order.
