Israeli Government Seeks to Cancel Appointment of Smotrich Ally While Funding His Legal Defense

The Israeli government is funding a private lawyer at a cost of approximately 100,000 shekels to defend the appointment of Yehuda Eliyahu, a close associate of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as CEO of the Israel Land Authority (ILA) in the Supreme Court. This comes despite the state itself requesting last week that the court annul the appointment and establish a new selection committee after uncovering additional procedural flaws. The Supreme Court has already issued a conditional order indicating it is considering invalidating the appointment.

In a response submitted on Wednesday ahead of a hearing scheduled for today, the state asked the court to cancel Eliyahu's appointment, form a new search committee, and appoint an interim CEO until a permanent one is selected. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Smotrich, and Housing Minister Haim Katz received approval to use state funds to hire a private attorney to represent a position opposing that of the state. This funding effectively enables Smotrich to continue fighting for Eliyahu, his friend and political partner of 27 years. Attorney Doron Taubman from the law firm Kasfi & Co. represents the ministers, with fees covering the legal response and court representation.

Smotrich is determined to retain Eliyahu after failing to secure approval from the Civil Service Commission and Ministry of Justice to keep him in office until the new CEO selection process concludes, expected post-elections. Smotrich’s political interest lies in controlling the ILA, which manages state land marketing and oversees development budgets worth tens of billions of shekels. The ILA’s development budgets include agreements with local authorities that channel hundreds of millions of shekels for infrastructure, granting Smotrich significant influence over local leaders and voters.

Eliyahu was appointed CEO on May 4, and his main action so far was signing a landmark "roof" agreement with the Karnei Shomron local council on June 14, involving a 2 billion shekel investment in infrastructure and construction of about 6,000 housing units and public institutions in the West Bank, a stronghold of Smotrich’s political base.

The state’s position shifted following a Calcalist report revealing a conflict of interest involving Prof. Idit Solberg, a member of the selection committee who also heads a consulting firm owned by her husband. This firm provided services worth about 10 million shekels in 2025 to the Ministry of Construction and Housing, which oversees the ILA. The State Attorney’s Office found that Solberg’s appointment to the committee was improper due to these ties, compounded by inaccurate disclosures she made before joining the committee. This was one of several procedural flaws cited by the state to justify annulling Eliyahu’s appointment.

The state also highlighted the personal connection between Eliyahu and Smotrich, which both acknowledge. Israeli law permits appointing a minister’s close associate only if the candidate has proven exceptional qualifications, a condition the state argues Eliyahu does not meet.

Attorney Doron Taubman, representing the ministers, stated there is no basis for judicial intervention, emphasizing that the selection committee found Eliyahu to be the most qualified candidate. He defended Prof. Solberg’s integrity and dismissed the conflict of interest claims, warning that invalidating committee members over such issues could undermine numerous senior appointments made by past governments.