In advance of the discussion in the ministerial legislation committee of the bill that seeks to allow government ministers to appoint politically connected candidates to senior posts in state-owned companies, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara released an opinion on Monday that opposes the bill.
Under the bill sponsored by MK Nissim Vaturi (Likud), it will be possible to appoint a candidate proposed by a minister to the post of director, chairperson, or CEO of a government company despite a political connection to the minister concerned. This is contrary to the current situation, in which the committee for senior appointments is authorized to disqualify a candidate with a personal, business, or political connection to the minister.
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The opinion, written by Deputy Attorney General Dr. Gil Limon, states, “The bill strikes a severe blow to the integrity of appointments to government companies, and to appointments to various public corporations, as it removes one of the main and most vital guarantees that the appointment of a candidate with a political affinity will be made out of relevant considerations, because of his qualifications, and not because of his connections.
“The bill,” Limon adds, “is one more in a series of measures currently being promoted that amount to politicization of the civil service and damage to the professionalism of the service to the public.”
The opinion warns that the bill will take appointments to government companies backwards, and allow the appointment of candidates who are not the most suitable and most worthy, severely damaging proper administration and the public interest.
“This involves substantial damage to the companies themselves, and, as a consequence, to the entire public,” Limon concludes.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 3, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
