Justice minister files list of candidates for next attorney general

Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday filed a list of three candidates for Israel’s next attorney general, while reserving the right to add more names to the list before a December 20 deadline.

The list was presented to former Supreme Court justice Asher Grunis, the head of the committee searching for a replacement for Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who ends his term on February 1, 2022, after six years.

Sa’ar’s list includes two of Mandelblit’s current deputies: Roi Scheindorf, the deputy attorney general for international law, and Raz Nizri, the deputy attorney general for constitutional affairs.

The third candidate is Gali Baharav-Miara, who previously served eight years as the Tel Aviv district attorney for civil affairs.

After the list is finalized, the selection process will move to Grunis’s committee, which includes former justice minister Dan Meridor, New Hope MK Zvi Hauser, Israel Bar Association representative Tami Ulman, and law professor Ron Shapira, the president of the Peres Academic Center.

The committee held its first meeting on Sunday. Due to the importance of the role of attorney general, the nomination usually must be unanimously agreed on by all members, and the nominee has to have the professional qualifications to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

The selection of committee members had caused outrage after former justice minister Meir Sheetrit was initially picked as a member despite past allegations against him of sexual harassment. After the public outcry, Sheetrit resigned and was replaced by Meridor.

Sa’ar has been seeking to split the attorney general job into two, with one person serving as the government’s legal adviser and another as chief state prosecutor. Sa’ar and other conservative critics have argued that the dual role creates a conflict of interest, as the attorney general is tasked with overseeing the prosecution of members of the government whose moves he is also charged with defending.

Mandelblit appeared to strongly denounce Sa’ar’s proposal in October as a threat to democracy.

Previous attempts to split the role were widely seen as motivated by political or personal interests, since they typically came from governments whose then-prime ministers were facing criminal indictment — including Ehud Olmert in 2007-2008, and Benjamin Netanyahu several years ago.