Avi Himi says values of incoming ministers clash with his own and with state’s; will stay on until next Bar election in June; 78 former judges say new coalition endangers democracy
The Times of Israel reports
The head of the Israel Bar Association announced Tuesday that he will not run for a new term in June in protest of policies being pushed by Israel’s incoming government, which has laid out plans for controversial reforms that critics say will cripple the judiciary.
Defense attorney Avi Himi, who took over the scandal-battered association in 2019 with a promise to rehabilitate the organization, cited ethical qualms over the new government in a Facebook post announcing his decision to step down next year.
“[My] values clash with the ‘values’ of the apparent new government, and they are undermining Israeli democracy, the rule of law and the value of equality for all the state’s citizens,” he wrote.
“I will not lend my hand to the moves of ignorant, anti-democratic people, some of whom are major players in the incoming government, who want to set Israeli people against each other,” he added, noting that he will stay on until his replacement is selected.
While the Bar Association is not a state body, it has an official role in helping appoint and promote new judges and Supreme Court justices, holding two of the nine seats on the Judicial Selection Committee.