Israeli Attorney General Mandelblitt Ends Tenure, Leaving His Successor to Deal With Netanyahu

In 2016, when Mandelblitt had just taken the position, it seemed that he and Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed mutual trust and respect. But as a probe into the ex-prime minister's alleged corruption continued, those friendly relations started to show cracks.

Tuesday will be Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblitt's last day in charge of one of the country's most influential offices.

During his six years in office, he has put a lot of effort into fighting corruption and assisted in opening lawsuits against a number of prominent politicians.

But his tenure will not be remembered for that. Rather, it will always be linked to the indictment of one man, the one who appointed him Israel's AG, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Match Made in Heaven?

In 2016, when Mandelblitt took office, it looked like a match made in heaven. He saw eye to eye with Netanyahu on the responsibilities of an attorney general and the role he would play in Israel's political scene.

The leader of the Israeli opposition Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with his party Likud in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem on 14 June 2021.

© REUTERS / RONEN ZVULUN

The two appreciated and trusted one another, and Netanyahu repeatedly stated that Mandelblitt was the most suitable candidate for the job.

Crack in Relations

Parallel to that the police and the prosecution have been working on collecting evidence against Netanyahu in three corruption cases against him, and when Mandelblitt started to cooperate with them, his friendly relations with the PM cracked. In November 2019, they reached a boiling point when Mandelblitt announced his decision to indict Israel's longest-serving PM.

The prosecution accuses Netanyahu of buying positive press and receiving gifts from a rich donor. The former PM has always denied these allegations and has repeatedly said that the attorney general joined forces with the judiciary and the police to remove him from office.

Netanyahu's narrative has been embraced by many of his loyalists, and since the indictment, conservative groups have organised a number of protests against the AG. They called him immoral and corrupt and demanded that he step down.

Some elements in the nation's liberal circles haven't been pleased with him either. They thought he was too mild on the former prime minister and they believed that harder measures should have been taken.

More recently, they were displeased with the plea bargain he was allegedly due to strike with the former prime minister, according to which Netanyahu would evade a prison sentence in exchange for leaving political life for the next seven years.

Gideon Sa’ar

© Photo : Gideon Sa’ar/facebook /

Mandelblitt hasn't given in to any of that pressure. He continued to work, ignoring any outside noise. Now, however, as his time as AG is running out, Israel's Minister of Justice Gideon Saar will need to find a replacement, but the problem is that there isn't one yet.

Successor Yet to Be Announced

There are several candidates for this position. One of them is Gali Bahrav-Myara, a private sector lawyer, who has previously served as the Head of Tel Aviv's Civil Division. But her main drawback is that she lacks any experience in criminal law. Neither does she have a relevant background as an adviser, one of the main responsibilities of an AG.

Two other contenders are Deputy Attorney General Roy Sheindorf and Defence Ministry legal adviser Itai Ofir, who reportedly has the backing of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defence Minister Benny Gantz.

A special committee is set to convene in February to pick the nation's 15th attorney general, a person who will head the public prosecution system, represent Israel in all legal proceedings, advise the government, and serve as the representative of public interest in all legal matters.

But for many Israelis, the main duty of the new AG will be to finish what Mandelblitt started - the graft probes of Netanyahu - and to make sure that justice and truth prevail.