High Court to hear petition against Netanyahu’s appointment of Roi Kahlon as acting civil service chief

The High Court of Justice agrees to hear a petition against the appointment of attorney Roi Kahlon as acting civil service commissioner, after he was appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the position yesterday despite the attorney general’s position that he was not qualified for the job.

Conservative justice Noam Sohlberg sets an urgent hearing for the petition, filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, for January 13, and orders the state to respond to the motion by January 12.

“The decision to hold an urgent hearing demonstrates the importance of the issue and the urgency in assessing the legality of the appointment,” says attorney Rotem Bavli Dvir of the Movement for Quality Government, describing the appointment as “illegitimate” and a step that she said would do “severe damage” to the civil service.

The Attorney General’s Office told Netanyahu last week that Kahlon did not meet the criteria for the position, that Kahlon had claimed in his resumé to have far greater management experience than he actually had, and that there was therefore a legal impediment to his appointment.

Netanyahu ignored the attorney general’s position and said he had received “warm recommendations from senior figures in the public service and the law enforcement system” for Kahlon’s appointment.

The High Court usually takes a dim view of government decisions that are taken in opposition to the attorney general’s position.