State Admits Serious Flaws in Yehuda Eliyahu's Appointment, but Seeks to Keep Him in Post
The state has accepted the main claims against Yehuda Eliyahu’s appointment as director general of the Israel Land Authority, acknowledging legal defects in the process, but it is asking the court to reject the petitions and leave the appointment in place. In its response, the state argued that judicial intervention in senior government appointments should be reserved for rare cases, and said the problems in this case do not meet the threshold for overturning the process. It added, “Not every alleged defect in the search process, nor even a cluster of defects, leads to its disqualification.”
Eliyahu’s appointment letter was signed on May 4 by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who actively advanced the move, together with Housing Minister Haim Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as required by law. About two weeks later, three petitions were filed by the Academy for a Democratic Israel, a joint petition by the Israel Women’s Lobby, Naamat and the Deborah Forum, and a third petition by the Arab Center for Alternative Planning. The petitioners argued that Eliyahu has a deep connection to Smotrich and that the legal duty of proper women’s representation was violated.
The state now concedes that Smotrich and Eliyahu are close friends and political partners for 27 years, creating a deep conflict of interest concern. Eliyahu also disclosed in a conflict-of-interest questionnaire that he is Smotrich’s close friend. Their ties include founding and running associations together, Eliyahu managing Smotrich’s Religious Zionism campaign and coalition talks in 2022, serving until 2019 in the leadership of the Tehiya movement, and being appointed in 2023 by Smotrich to head the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry. Because of the relationship, the legal adviser to the Israel Land Authority instructed Eliyahu not to meet Smotrich without professional staff present.
To justify the appointment despite that connection, the state relies on Eliyahu’s claimed “special qualifications,” mainly his experience in settlement issues in Judea and Samaria. Four of the five members of the search committee recommended him as the sole candidate, citing three years leading the Settlement Administration, land regularization work worth 250 million shekels, government decisions to establish dozens of communities, and previous service as director general of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Still, the state says the committee placed too much weight on that background and failed to sufficiently account for his lack of experience in other Israel Land Authority fields, such as the private market, entrepreneurship, urban renewal and rising prices in demand centers.
The state also says Smotrich acted improperly by continuing the appointment despite a conflict-of-interest concern and ignoring guidance from Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon to seek instructions from the attorney general. Another defect emerged after the appointment, when Eliyahu’s involvement in choosing budget chief Mahran Prznosfer was revealed. Prznosfer later joined the search committee that recommended Eliyahu. Eliyahu said he attended meetings Smotrich held with candidates, including Prznosfer, but did not take part in the decision, while the state says Prznosfer should have told the committee and its legal adviser about Eliyahu’s role.
The Arab Center for Alternative Planning also challenged Eliyahu over statements it called racist, including an old article in which he said state land should be allocated to Jews only. Eliyahu responded that his public activity has always been in accordance with the law and that the article was written 16 years ago as part of a routine legal and political debate.
