Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has come out strongly against Justice Minister (Bayit Yehudi) Ayelet Shaked, instructing her to refrain from concerning herself with matters that are not hers to address. He made his comments in a letter, a response to a letter received from the Justice Minister regarding Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber.

Zilber, known for her strong left-wing beliefs, spoke out harshly about a bill from Culture & Sports Minister (Likud) Miri Regev, the Loyalty in Culture bill, a bill seeking to curtail governing funding of cultural institutions that are not loyal to the state. That criticism prompted Minister Shaked to send a letter to Mandelblit, in which she stated Zilber should be fired for speaking out as she did. Shaked added Zilber will no longer be permitted to represent the government in Knesset, explaining Zilber’s behavior is unprofessional and political in nature.

Mandelblit in response criticized Shaked, explaining he will handle his own affairs, which are no concern of hers in this case. Mandelblit explained that it is he who decides who will represent the government in Knesset, not the minister.

The criticism surrounding the bill did not stop there, as Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern spoke out most disrespectfully about Regev, who served as a former IDF Spokesperson, holding the rank of brigadier-general. Stern said that the public would not want to know how she reached such a high rank, hinting she acted in an immoral fashion to climb the ranks. During a debate on the bill in Knesset Stern said, “I don’t want to talk about how you advanced in the army. It’s not worth it.” It is pointed out here that Stern is a retired major-general, who last served as head of the Manpower Directorate. His comments were praised by faction leader MK Yair Lapid.

While Regev remained silent during the Knesset debate, she fired back on Tuesday night, calling to suspend Stern for his ugly remarks. Her scathing criticism of Stern included, his comments are an “indictment against women who moved up the ranks in the IDF and commanders who promoted women in the army.”

In response, Stern said, “I never said anything that could be construed as a hint of sexual harassment. I am aware of what goes on in the social networks and there are women who have been hurt by my words. I apologized, and Miri Regev is not one of them.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)