High Court: Mazuz should not have called on Metzger to quit
Judges recommend that Attorney General and Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi agree on alternate phrasing for report.
By Yuval YoazHigh Court of Justice judges on Sunday criticized Attorney General Menachem Mazuz for demanding that Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger resign from his post.
In the course of a hearing on the petition filed by Metzger against Mazuz, chief justice Dorit Beinisch said, "it appears that the Attorney General has placed the cart before the horses." Beinisch was referring to the fact that Mazuz's decision limited the authority of the justice minister in the matter of removing Metzger from his post.
The judges recommended that Mazaz and Metzger agree on an alternate phrasing to replace the article calling for Metzger's resignation in the Mazuz's public report on Metzger.
Judge Ayala Procaccia asked prosecution representatives whether the attorney general has also recommended that other state employees resign when disciplinary action was recommended, but no indictment was filed.
Mazuz's aide, Attorney Raz Nazari, explained to the judges that "situations exist in which the attorney general is allowed to express his opinion on the public level and say that it would be unwarranted for a certain person to remain in his or her position."
Metzger was being probed for allegedly staying with his family at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem for a minimal fee during Pesach 2004.
During an investigation into the affair, police discovered that the Metzgers also allegedly received huge discounts at the David Citadel during 2004's Sukkot and Shavuot holidays, and enjoyed similarly discounted stays at other hotels.
In April, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to close a criminal investigation into Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger but will ask him to resign from his position.
Mazuz will not seek an indictment against Metzger for fraud and breach of trust related to a stay in a Jerusalem hotel, it was announced on Monday.
Nevertheless, due to findings that emerged during the criminal probe into the affair, Mazuz called on Metzger - who lied to investigators - to resign from his position as chief rabbi.
"Given his flawed conduct, it is only right for Rabbi Metzger to take personal responsibility and decide - on his own accord - to step from his position as rabbinical judge and chief rabbi," Mazuz said. "The continuation of his tenure is liable to seriously hamper the public standing of the chief rabbinate and the main rabbinical court."
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
I don't know much about Mazuz, but- I am sure he is more honest than ANY orthodox rabbi. Mazuz works for a living, does not try to force his beliefs on others, is modern, not living the way our ancestors lived in the shtetl, he is not a blood sucking leech like the charedim are. You are in the USA- stay there, not come here to stir up more problems like your fellow Brooklinites do with threir settlements. Enjoy the schnor in YSA- get your charedi brothers to join you in the USA- at least in the USA, because of separation of state and church you are powerless to afeect the majority.
honorable way out, Mazuz should have talked to El-Al, Shemen, Osem, Egged, Telma, Elite, etc. and asked them abt. their "experiences" with the "ortodox" community. He did not, so now, instead of recvng. Metzger's thanks he is being sued by the very person whose name he was trying to keep "clean"!!
AG Mazuz is the most dishonest phony in the Israeli Govt.When Lindenstrauss advocated indicting Olmert,Mazuz quietly swept it under the rug.Yet, now he investigates the chief rabbi of Israel for getting a discount? Mazuz hates religious and right wing Jews and this interfers in his judgement. He should be fired and go find a job with "peace now."
From my visits to Israel I recall the Rabbinate of the city gives the hashgacha, e.g Rabbi Lau in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem's Chief Rabbi in Jerusalem. I don't recall the Chief Rabbi giving hashgacha to hotels. There is nothing tref in Kavod HaRav. If I ran a hotel I would be thrilled to have the Chief Rabbi of Israel or Britain among my guests. If anything I would have extra mashgichim during such a visit!
Isnt the Rabinat the ONLY arbiter of how many mashgihim need be there, their work hours, overtime, pay etc.? In other words all that extra cost?
Seems like there's no interest in fiding what the hotel's interests might be.(beyond the prestige element) May it be easing some of the 'hashgaha' rules?
Sounds to me more the heading shpuld have been: "The hotel makes it treyf".
Like: the Chief of Staff - Halutz Defense Minister PM various Division Chiefs and generals because of their conduct in the Hizballah war?
The greatest "unfairness" that finally happened to Mazuz on his way to imitate is the fact that Justice Beinish is not retired Justice A. Barak. It is finally clear to the HCJ that in Israel, there is a division of Powers, and that the legislative has allowed enough room for the Ministries to carry out their work under the Basic Laws. NOw, this does not mean that Chief Rabbi Metzger should not be called upon to explain what happened; but it frees Mazuz to look into discharging his obligations under the charter as Attorney General.
My lord, I detect that the only flawed conduct in this case of the Rabbi and the Hotel is that of the attorney general, who had no right to be concerned about how much the Chief Rabbi paid for his hotel bill. Has the Chief Rabbi misused public money? Has he stolen anything? Did he harm anyone in any way? It seems to me there was no case to answer. My lord. I rest my case.
How much the Chief Rabbi pays to stay at a Jewish hotel over Chagim is between him and the hotel. His presence increases the hotel's prestige and may increase their number of guests in the future. Why does this involve the Attorney General? In Hollywood, stars wear a designer's clothes and/or jewellery to help publicise the designer. Are they to also be investigated?