Israel’s High Court of Justice on Wednesday decided to freeze the appointment of Orly Ben-Ari Ginsberg to the post of Acting State Prosecutor, replacing Shai Nitzan whose good bye party is in progress while this report is being filed.
The court’s injunction remains in effect pending a hearing on a petition filed Wednesday morning against the appointment by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (see: First Petition Against Ohana’s Prosecutor Hits High Court, Dirt on Pick Emerging), on the grounds that “grave concern that this appointment is driven by extraneous considerations,” and that her taking office “could inflict irreparable damage on the State Prosecutor’s Office.”
Justice Menachem Mazuz issued the injunction, after Justice Noam Sohlberg had recused himself “for reasons of a social connection.”
The MQG petition states: “There is a grave concern that the appointment of this acting state prosecutor is extremely unreasonable and is driven entirely by extraneous considerations and bad faith, in the light of indications that the considerations at the root of the decision are to weaken the gatekeepers of justice and the entire enforcement of the rule of law – related to and concerning the investigation files against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The purpose of the petition for the grant of interim orders and provisional orders is to maintain the existing situation and to prevent Ms. Ben-Ari from taking up the post of Acting State Prosecutor to prevent irreparable damage to the office she serves,” the petition continues, suggesting that “the manner in which Ben-Ari was appointed does not meet any of the conditions and tests of discretion required when making an administrative decision.”
The petitioners noted that “the conduct of Justice Minister Amir Ohana and the decision he made violate the stability of the role of State Prosecutor, impair public confidence in the manner of decision-making, and are extremely unreasonable.”