Israel's legal advisory system has unanimously decided that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will recommend that the High Court of Justice strike down the appointment of Yehuda Eliyahu as director general of the Israel Land Authority. The formal notice was delivered Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Minister Hayim Katz.
The recommendation follows a report by Calcalist about Prof. Idit Solberg, a member of the selection committee that backed Eliyahu. Solberg chairs Solberg Consulting, owned by her husband, Shay, and the firm provided services to the Housing and Construction Ministry in 2025 worth about 10 million shekels. Because the Israel Land Authority is subordinate to the housing minister, lawyers said this created a serious conflict of interest, as Solberg helped choose someone who could later affect her family's business income.
Legal officials said that conflict of interest was the decisive factor that led to the entire selection committee being disqualified, after additional legal problems had already emerged in the appointment process. The state had acknowledged those issues in three petitions filed with the High Court. Smotrich had pushed the appointment aggressively, and he is a personal friend and political ally of Eliyahu for 27 years.
The government now faces a choice, either accept the attorney general's position and cancel the appointment, then decide whether to restart the selection process with a new committee or a fresh call for candidates, or reject the recommendation and defend the appointment in court using private legal counsel. A further complication is the possible dissolution of the Knesset, which would trigger an election period during which senior appointments are barred. The Israel Land Authority has been without a permanent director since Yanki Quinte's departure in December 2025, apart from a temporary stint by Idan Moalem as acting head. At last Wednesday's hearing, held alongside the Calcalist investigation, the High Court shifted the burden to the state by issuing an order nisi, and the next hearing is set for July 1, when the government must present its final response.
