PM’s pick for acting Civil Service head is under investigation by the Civil Service

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pick for acting Civil Service commissioner has an open disciplinary investigation against him by the Civil Service Commission itself due to actions he took in his role as director general of the Chief Rabbinate in violation of the institution’s regulations.

Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he was seeking to appoint Chief Rabbinate Director General Yehudah Cohen as acting Civil Service commissioner, since the High Court ruled last week that the government’s chosen appointments process for a permanent commissioner was invalid.

But Cohen’s track record has been blemished by at least three incidents in which he violated the Chief Rabbinate’s regulations in order to award rabbinate approved status to institutions or individuals, and in making an appointment, while bypassing proper procedure.

As a result of one of those incidents, a disciplinary investigation was opened against Cohen some 18 months ago in which testimony was taken, although a final ruling has not been issued.

In the framework of a petition to the High Court of Justice by the ITIM religious services organization against Cohen’s actions in that incident, the Chief Rabbinate admitted to having acted improperly.

Cohen did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the matter.

The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is located in Jerusalem. (Flash90)

The Civil Service commissioner oversees all the civil servants in the Civil Service, which runs public services in the country, and has authority over senior appointments, promotions, and dismissals in the Civil Service, the allocation of tasks within its departments, and disciplinary processes.

Netanyahu tried to have Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar Tal appointed to the role earlier this month, but failed to consult with the attorney general, who objected to the appointment. Netanyahu subsequently retracted the appointment, and on Tuesday told the attorney general he wished to appoint Cohen, and asked for her legal opinion.

In a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Tuesday, ITIM accused Cohen of “systematic unlawful activity with continuous disregard for legal advice and the provisions of the law.”
The organization also asserted that there would be a “severe conflict of interest” to appoint as an acting Civil Service commissioner someone against whom there is a disciplinary investigation by the Civil Service Commission.

“The appointment of a person who is under investigation by the Civil Service Commission regarding alleged disciplinary offenses committed in his position… amounts to a serious and unprecedented conflict of interest. It is not possible for a person who is under investigation by that system itself to be placed at the head of the system,” ITIM wrote in its letter to the attorney general.

The first complaint against Cohen as director general of the Chief Rabbinate was filed in September 2023, after he added two foreign rabbinical court to the Chief Rabbinate’s list of courts approved to conduct Jewish conversions, without performing the necessary procedures to validate that court.

The Chief Rabbinate has been extremely strict in determining which Orthodox rabbinical courts it recognizes for the purposes of marriage registration in Israel, but Cohen circumvented those procedures when adding the two rabbinical courts to the approved list in September 2023.

The Chief Rabbinate acknowledged this violation of procedure in its response to ITIM’s petition to the High Court, and agreed to start the recognition process anew under the guidance of the Chief Rabbinate’s legal advice department.

The disciplinary investigation opened by the Civil Service Commission against Cohen was regarding that incident.

In a second incident in August 2024, Cohen was involved in having several individuals added to the Chief Rabbinate’s list of those approved to conduct Jewish weddings in Israel while unlawfully excluding the Chief Rabbinate’s legal department from the process.

And in September 2024, Cohen was involved in appointing the head of a kosher slaughter team to work abroad once again in contravention of the instructions of the Chief Rabbinate’s legal adviser.

The High Court issued sharp criticism of Cohen’s actions in a petition over that matter as well.

“The appointment as ‘chief administrator’ of the Civil Service Commission of someone against whom such serious questions arise regarding his performance in relation to the obligations of good governance, is unreasonable in the extreme,” ITIM wrote.