The leading candidate to become Israel’s next state prosecutor is attorney Shai Nitzan, who currently serves as the assistant state attorney general. The appointment of Nitzan, who is viewed as very anti-settlement, has right-wing members of the coalition quite concerned.

With strong backing from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, Shai is ahead of other candidates being considered for the post.

When appointed to his current post two years ago there was an outcry from the right-wing community. Seeking a solution, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and then Justice Minister Prof. Yuval Ne’eman promised Nitzan would not handle cases dealing with yishuvim or matters in Yehuda or Shomron. There were protests outside Nitzan’s home and he was harassed to some degree as right-wingers protested his appointment.

He was a member of a religious Zionist youth organization as a youth, and opponents feel today he is bending over backwards to show he is not partial to that group. It was Nitzan who brought about a change in the law before the 2005 disengagement, resulting in stiffer penalties for right-wing refusniks opposing the expulsion of Jews from their homes. The right-wing has accused him of ordering investigations against prominent members of the political left closed while hounding the right-wing relentlessly.

Weinstein explained his support, stating simply that Nitzan is highly qualified and already inside the system, making him well-acquainted with the running of the state prosecutor’s office.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)