Next Monday, the term of office of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will end.
Amit Isman will take the reins until a permanent replacement is found, thus ending the most tumultuous term of office for the ombudsman known to the state.
Mandelblit's stated view is that he must do everything in his power to uphold government policy, but in practice has repeatedly opposed its actions - in an opinion on constitutional impediment to one move or another and joining the High Court's petitions against the government, which have caused much friction, especially in the previous government.
Mandelblit was appointed to the post with the support of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite the cloud over the Harpaz affair, but eventually those who fought for his appointment became his bitter rival.
Most of the confrontations, of course, were around the decision to prosecute Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, but the clash between an incumbent prime minister and a spokesman who also serves as head of the prosecution had many sub-noises.
First, Netanyahu did not shy away from his attacks on the prosecution and its head, claiming that cases were seized for him due to political persecution - a version that took hold of many publics, and significantly affected the public's level of trust in the prosecution and the judiciary.
Second, Netanyahu has long refrained from making many appointments in the law enforcement system, and some would say it was a deliberate move to weaken it.
The culmination of the struggle was the well-publicized appointment of the State Attorney, in a battle between the ombudsman and the then Minister of Justice, Amir Ohana. Acting State Attorney. In response to the petition, the High Court delayed the appointment and Ben-Ari waived it.
Afterwards, the director of the State Department's Economic Department, Dan Eldad, was appointed, contrary to Mandelblit's opinion, who this time chose a different approach and accepted the appointment - but took action to reduce and sabotage his work, culminating in his opposition to Eldad's extension.
Another case that clouded the spokesman's tenure was the "sex in exchange for appointment" case, in which Efi Naveh was suspected of promoting a judge due to intimate ties between them. He "holds me by the throat" and insults him ("This maniac does not decide on the case") - and soon Naveh's case was closed. Many embarrassing recordings.
State Attorney, Amit Eisman, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Recently, Mandelblit worked to close some key cases and "leave a clean slate."
One of them is the plea deal with Aryeh Deri, who is suspected of tax offenses, in which the Shas chairman will resign from the Knesset and in return will not want imprisonment or community service - and without disgrace, which will allow him to be elected to the next Knesset.
In the Netanyahu case, the ombudsman failed to close a deal, it seems, and this will be dragged into his successor's office. Alongside the media and public pressure, he did his part - and Mandelblit withdrew from the deal while hardening his stances.
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