Last update - 00:00 04/02/2007
Bar-On withdraws candidacy for position of justice minister
By Mazal Mualem and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondents
Interior Minister Roni Bar-On on Sunday informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the position of justice minister.
Bar-On, considered a very close associate of the prime minister, likely withdrew his name because he realized that Olmert has been looking seriously for a senior legal personality from outside of the political system to fill the position.
Sources close to the minister said Bar-On also preferred to continue in his position and to focus on the reforms he has been working on in the Interior Ministry.
Associates of Olmert confirmed that the prime minister preferred to appoint a known jurist or lawyer to the position.
Appointing a non-politician would signal that Olmert seeks to stabilize the relationship between the justice system and the government in the wake of last week's conviction of former justice minister MK Haim Ramon, which marked a nadir in relations between the two establishments.
The prime minister plans to complete the round of ministerial appointments and fill all empty government positions this week, as announced by Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been holding the justice portfolio since Ramon's resignation, will most likely give up the position to a permanent minister sometime this week.
Among the leading candidates for the position are Professors Uriel Reichman and Amnon Rubenstein, both of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
Reichman founded the academy, and served as president of the institution until he joined Kadima last year. Rubenstein took over the position of president in Reichman's absence. According to reports released last week, Reichman intends to resume his role as president.