Ohana takes parting shots at Justice Ministry as his successor hails it as ‘shield’ of democracy

Outgoing Justice Minister Amir Ohana takes a few parting shots at the Justice Ministry as he is replaced by Blue and White’s Avi Nissenkorn.

“I leave my role today with mixed feelings,” Ohana, who is moving to the Public Security Ministry, says during an event at the Justice Ministry. “The much needed reform of the Prosecutor General’s Department and the State Attorney’s Office didn’t happen, because the system, today no less than the past, is calibrated to protect its power more than its calibrated to protect the public’s trust in it.”

He adds: “This to me is very unfortunate, but I know the day will come — and I hope it won’t grow out of a deep crisis — that things will look different.”

Ohana’s successor sounds a much different tone.

“The Justice Ministry is the shield that defends democracy and today needs protecting. I’ll be one to protect it,” Nissenkorn says.

Nissenkorn, a former head of the Histadrut labor federation, says that while criticism of the justice system “is not only legitimate but reasonable,” it doesn’t provide carte blanche for “delegitimization.”