Acting Tiberias mayor rejects justice’s suggestion he bow out of race

Following a five-hour long hearing, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg recommends that acting mayor of Tiberias Boaz Yosef refrain from running for the post in the upcoming October election, stating that the nine-justice panel favors a situation in which a recent law ostensibly passed to assist Yosef electorally should enter into effect only after the upcoming ballot.

Despite the justice’s comments, Yosef’s lawyer informs the court that he declines to accept the recommendation.

Sohlberg’s remarks, which he said reflect the “emerging view” of the nine-justice panel, indicate that the court hearing has taken a dim view of the personal nature of the law which was seemingly designed both by its primary sponsor Likud MK Amit Halevy and in the legislative process in committee to specifically enable Yosef to run for mayor.

“The emerging opinion of the court is that the implementation of the law needs to be postponed,” says Sohlberg, adding, “Perhaps it’s best not to polish the swords and to reconcile with the result.”

The organizations and individuals who filed petitions against the law argued it should be struck down by the High Court because it was narrowly designed to help a specific individual.

The law does away with a cooling off period imposed on acting position holders to avoid them having an unfair advantage in the upcoming elections over other candidates. Petitioners argued that the new law harms the enshrined rights of other candidates.

While expressing concern throughout the hearing over the personal nature of the law, the High Court justices were relatively dismissive of constitutional arguments against the legislation.