Neeman uses crime wave to boost bid for splitting AG role

Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman lashed out at Attorney General Menachem Mazuz yesterday, charging that neither criminal law nor economic legislation is properly enforced in Israel.

And that, he said during a meeting with journalists in Jerusalem, is why his proposal to split the attorney general's role in two is crucial: Currently, the attorney general is so overbooked that he lacks the time to properly supervise an all-out war on soaring crime.

Under Neeman's proposal, one person would serve as head of the prosecution and another as the government's legal advisor, instead of the attorney general filling both roles, as is currently done. The subsequent creation of the equivalent of an army chief of staff to fight crime is needed, he said.

But contrary to previous media reports, he said that under his plan, the attorney general's legal opinions would continue to be binding on the government - and not only that, this authority would be enshrined in legislation. Currently, it exists only by dint of Supreme Court decisions.

Neeman said he plans to submit his proposal to the cabinet for approval in the coming weeks. He rejected the idea of instead setting up a public commission to study the matter, saying that from his own experience of having served on 25 such commissions, he knows this is a recipe for burying the proposal.

Hitherto, Neeman has justified his proposal mainly on the grounds that the attorney general's dual role creates an inherent conflict of interests. Yesterday, however, he for the first time tied the recent wave of high-profile crimes to his cause. This crime wave, he said, proves that Israel needs a full-time head of the prosecution who will focus all his energy on law enforcement.

"The attorney general is not free to deal with the rising crime, because he is busy advising cabinet ministers," Neeman charged. "The result is nonenforcement of the law."

Asked how this claim meshes with Mazuz's success in putting a long list of elected officials and leading mobsters behind bars, he retorted that this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

"The issue of organized crime, and crime in general, is not currently top priority for our law enforcement officials," he said. "There is nobody responsible for dealing just with this."

Neeman also indirectly criticized Mazuz's training and oversight of government ministries' legal advisors, charging that some of these advisors do not know how to say anything except "it's impossible" or "it's illegal" - a response, he added, that has often caused huge financial damage to the country.

Neeman also assailed Labor Party chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who opposes the idea of splitting the attorney general's job and favors setting up a study commission instead.

"Barak has his own considerations," Neeman charged. "I won't go into his internal party considerations ... [but] I have no political considerations."

As for the idea of setting up a public commission to study the issue, he said, "Whenever the government needs to make a decision within its area of jurisdiction but is evading its responsibility, it throws [the issue] onto a public commission."

Neeman said that under his plan, the head of the prosecution would be chosen by an independent public committee headed by a retired Supreme Court justice and would serve for six years. However, he declined to say what would remain of the state prosecutor's powers under this plan, beyond saying that he does not intend to abolish the position. The state prosecutor would presumably be subordinate to the new head of the prosecution.