High Court freezes appointment of new justice ministry chief

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday freezes the appointment of Ophir Cohen as director general of the Justice Ministry and issues a biting critique of Justice Minister Amir Ohana.

“Removing a director general during an election campaign and appointing another from outside the public service directly contradicts the guidelines of the attorney general, and stands in direct opposition to the clear ruling of the Supreme Court,” Justice Menachem Mazuz says during the Wednesday debate on a petition from the Movement for Quality Government against the appointment.

Ohana, who was appointed justice minister in June, quickly fired the longtime and widely respected director general of the ministry Emi Palmor and appointed in her stead Cohen, an old personal friend who critics noted had never managed a large organization either in the public or private sectors.