AG argues to High Court that new vetting panel chief must be permanent appointee

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara comes out against the idea of a temporary head for the vetting committee for senior officials, after the High Court froze government’s appointment of a new chairman due to the elections.

Responding for the state, Baharav-Miara acknowledges “considerations of restraint” during an election period, but argues that not appointing Menachem “Meni” Mazuz as chairman of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee on a permanent basis would undercut the authorities of the government and the panel.

In their decision to halt the appointment last week, the justices questioned why Mazuz could not serve as a temporary head of the committee.

“The appointment of a committee chairman on a temporary or ‘ad-hoc’ basis… harms the government’s broad policies and makes an opening for the erosion of the independent and very important status of the committee’s members as gatekeepers,” she writes in the response.

Mazuz’s appointment is necessary for Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi to become the next IDF chief, as nominees for top security posts must be vetted by the committee.