Committee Blocks Appointment of Esther Schreiber as Antiquities Authority CEO

The appointments committee headed by Judge Shulamit Dotan informed Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu that it was rejecting Esther Schreiber’s appointment as director-general of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The decision came after Schreiber had already passed the professional selection process and been recommended for the post, and after the legal adviser to the Heritage Ministry, attorney Hanan Erlich, approved the appointment following a legal review.

According to the decision, Dotan concluded that the minimum qualifications set in the tender were lower than what the law requires. As a result, she voided the tender for the position of director-general of the Antiquities Authority. People familiar with the process said Schreiber met all the tender requirements and passed every professional stage, adding that the procedure had taken months and objections to the qualifications were raised only after she was chosen.

One source called the ruling puzzling, saying all relevant professional and legal bodies had examined and approved the appointment. He asked why reservations about the tender’s requirements were not raised during the bidding period itself, and accused the move of being an attempt to block a professional appointment by a government minister from the right. The same source argued that the cancellation was driven by the fact that Schreiber is "a religious woman with a head covering," and said no other candidate would have been rejected on those grounds.

The sources said the decision has sparked public and legal controversy, especially because the tender had advanced throughout the process in line with guidance and opinions from the authorized Heritage Ministry officials. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also attacked the ruling, saying the official reason was "legal," but the real reason was that a religious woman wearing a scarf was not acceptable to the "deep state."