Prof. Idit Solberg, one of five members of the search committee that recommended appointing Yehuda Eliyahu as director of the Israel Land Authority at the end of April, also chairs Solberg Consulting, a company owned solely by her husband, Shai. The company provides consulting services to the Housing and Construction Ministry and, according to the report, billed it about 10 million shekels in 2025 alone. The company’s website also says it works for the Tourism Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.
The article says this creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest, because Solberg took part in choosing a candidate who could influence the revenues of her family’s business. Solberg was appointed to the committee by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as a public representative, and over the past three years he has also appointed her to at least four other public bodies, including the Nagel Committee on the defense budget, a search committee for the Capital Market Authority, a committee to select the head of the Tax Authority and the committee that chooses members of the Bank of Israel monetary committee.
Eliyahu’s appointment has prompted three petitions to the High Court of Justice, with the first hearing expected today. In a state response filed over the weekend, the government said it essentially accepted most of the petitioners’ claims and acknowledged legal problems in the appointment process, while asking the court to reject the petitions and limit intervention in senior appointments to exceptional cases. The response, prepared by the legal adviser’s office, did not address the alleged conflict involving Solberg, but it did address another committee member, Finance Ministry Budget Director Mahran Pronsper.
The state said Eliyahu had been present in interviews for the budget chief post, including a conversation between Smotrich and Pronsper, who was later appointed, and that Pronsper should have informed the committee about it. Still, it said Eliyahu did not take part in the final decision on Pronsper’s appointment, which the minister made alone. The petitions also argue that Eliyahu has a deep personal and political tie to Smotrich and that the legal requirement for proper female representation was violated. The state itself said Smotrich and Eliyahu have been close friends and political partners for 27 years, and also conceded there is difficulty supporting the committee’s claim that Eliyahu had unique qualifications. It added that Smotrich’s conduct did not meet proper administrative standards because he completed the appointment despite conflict-of-interest concerns and ignored instructions from Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon to seek guidance from the attorney general.
