Justice Minister Yariv Levin told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he has reached a dead end in his efforts to appoint a suitable state official to oversee the investigation into the disgraced Military Advocate General after it twice disqualified appointments he proposed: retired judge Kula and later retired judge Yosef Ben-Hamo.

In an unusual move, he submitted a request to the Court asking the judges to re-examine the appointment of retired judge Asher Kula to the position, suggesting that he take a temporary leave from his current position as Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges to prevent a conflict of interest.

Levin noted that nearly a month has passed since the Court’s ruling and almost two months since the investigation began, but no suitable candidate has been found due to the strict criteria set by the Court. He described his extensive attempts to assign the role to senior officials from various state authorities, including the Competition Authority, the Securities Authority, the Tax Authority, and the Public Defender’s Office, with all the officials declining the request or not meeting the criteria set by the Court.

In his letter, Levin asked the Court to clarify whether Judge Kula could be appointed if he temporarily steps aside from his current position. He argued that this would resolve the conflict of interest, since the court itself had previously recognized Kula as a suitable candidate who met all requirements, with the only obstacle being the prohibition on the Ombudsman holding an outside position.

Levin warned that the Court’s continued stymying of the appointment of a qualified candidate to oversee the  case described as the worst scandal in Israeli history will cause serious harm to the public interest, undermine efforts to uncover the truth, and erode public trust in law enforcement.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)