Prosecutor in PM’s cases given top post despite efforts to block her promotion

Liat Ben-Ari, the lead prosecutor in a series of corruption cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was appointed deputy state attorney on Thursday.

Ben-Ari, who holds the taxation and economic crimes portfolio in the state prosecution’s Tel Aviv district, has led numerous high-level corruption investigations against political figures, including Netanyahu and former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

In June, her appointment was delayed after the Civil Service Commission received an anonymous letter claiming to have been written by “concerned prosecutors” from within the legal system and maintaining that her appointment was part of a politically motivated effort to force Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to indict Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, who has denied any wrongdoing, has claimed a “weak” Mandelblit is being pressured by “left-wing” prosecutors and media outlets into charging him. He has a pre-indictment hearing with Mandelblit next week.

But the commission convened Thursday and unanimously approved Ben-Ari’s appointment under the tender issued for the position.

And State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan issued a strongly worded letter to Sigal Yakobi, acting director general of the Justice Ministry, in which he questioned her actions in recent days to apparently try and thwart Ben-Ari’s appointment.

“I was astounded to learn… that in recent days you took action in relation to the CSC on the issue of the tender,” Nitzan wrote. “You asked not just to delay the date of the committee [decision] but to abolish the position. All this without a word or half a word to me. This conduct raises severe questions.”

He noted that Yakobi failed to notify him, the immediate superior to the position she sought to eliminate, or the attorney general about her efforts. Yakobi continued to seek to prevent the appointment from going through right up until the committee met on Thursday.

“Is it conceivable that an acting director general should seek to abolish a very senior post, in the largest unit in the ministry, a unit dealing with law enforcement, without prior consultation with the head of that unit?” he wrote.

Yakobi was appointed to her post two weeks ago, after Justice Minister Amir Ohana of Likud abruptly fired predecessor Emi Palmor, a move that drew widespread condemnation and was seen by critics as a political move.

Ohana later explained the move, saying it was accepted practice for a new minister to appoint their own director general. However, it is rare for a minister serving in a caretaker government to do so. Ohana is only expected to fill the position for several months, until the next coalition is formed following the September 17 elections.

Yakobi was previously the Justice Ministry’s Administrator General and Official Receiver.

Netanyahu faces looming indictments for fraud and breach of trust in three criminal cases, and bribery in one of them. One case involves gifts from wealthy associates, while the other two concern quid pro quo deals with news outlet owners in which Netanyahu allegedly promised regulatory favors in exchange for positive media coverage. He denies the charges in all three cases.

Mandelblit announced in February that he intended to indict the prime minister in all three, pending a hearing now scheduled for October 2.