The High Court of Justice on Monday, 6 Shevat, approved the decision of the State Comptroller’s Permit Committee that Meir Porush should not be allowed to serve in his position as Deputy Minister of Education, in addition to his membership on the Board of Directors of Chinuch Atzmai.

The decision of Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg referred to the request of the Deputy Minister of Yahadut Hatorah to issue an interim order that would allow him to remain in office until a final decision was made on the matter.

The saga began following many requests by attorney Yoav Lalum of the Noar K’halacha organization, in which he argued for conflicts of interest in which Deputy Minister Porush was present, and during the past three years Porush’s lawyer, Gedalyah Axelrod, exchanged correspondence with the deputy attorney general Dina Zilber and the Permit Committee of the State Comptroller’s Office, in order to find a loophole that would allow him to retire as a member of Chinuch Atzmai, in parallel to his tenure as deputy minister.

In a detailed opinion, the Permits Committee initially objected to Porush’s request and determined that he should resign from one of his posts, and that serving in both positions simultaneously constitutes a serious conflict of interest. Three years ago, Porush received the letter from the deputy attorney general informing him that he must stop serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Chinuch Atzmai, but made it clear that the Permit Committee is authorized to permit exceptions to the rules in certain cases.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)