Former State Prosecutor Shuli Avni-Shoham Emerges as Leading Candidate to Head Israel Land Authority

Following the expected disqualification of Yehuda Eliyahu as head of the Israel Land Authority, after a High Court of Justice interim order and support from the attorney general for blocking his appointment, a new leading candidate has emerged, Shuli Avni-Shoham, who currently heads the Corporations Authority and previously served in the State Attorney’s Office.

Avni-Shoham was appointed to her current Justice Ministry post during the previous government by Gideon Saar and Naftali Bennett. In political circles, the possible appointment is worrying figures on the coalition and the right, who see her as aligned with the legal establishment and point to several recent decisions she made that clashed with the current government’s preferences.

Among those decisions, she ordered the dissolution of the association founded by Minister May Golan, “HaIr Halevana,” approved the registration of Yoaz Hendel’s “Reservists” party despite opposition from Likud, and earlier approved the registration of Bennett’s “Bennett 26” party despite debts left by his earlier parties, the Jewish Home and Yamina. A report by journalist Yishai Friedman also said that when requests were made to her as registrar of associations to act against left-wing organizations accused of incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Eli pre-military academy and the Religious Zionist Party, she did not act.

The article says left-wing groups, including the Women’s Lobby and Academia for Democracy, which petitioned the High Court to bar Eliyahu, are also pressing for Avni-Shoham’s appointment. The attorney general has reportedly backed that push. The final decision will soon be made by ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Haim Katz, who must sign off on the Israel Land Authority chief.