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There has been an angry clash between Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein over the appointment of Tax Authority head Moshe Asher. Sources inform "Globes" that, last night, Weinstein sought to stop the vote on the matter, hours after "Globes" revealed that Sunday's cabinet meeting would vote on the appointment, and that Steinitz, along with most ministers, was expected to vote against it.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that a vote would be taken on the appointment on Sunday. However, a few hours later, a change of plan was reported, and the Prime Minister's Office stated: "After consultation with the Attorney General, it has been decided not to vote on the matter this week."
The Ministry of Justice said, "The subject is currently in the throes of being considered at the most senior levels. Naturally we cannot amplify on this at the moment with regard to the content of the deliberations." The Ministry of Justice said that the Attorney General had asked to examine some of the legal aspects of the matter. The vote has already been delayed for more than a month - long enough to carry out many checks.
Anger in the minister's office
Sources inform "Globes" that the Attorney General has discovered that the reason why the cabinet will vote against Asher is that intensive work by Steinitz has persuaded other ministers to oppose the appointment. Thus Weinstein requested the postponement of the vote, which he sees as contempt of court by the cabinet. Weinstein is determined that Asher will be appointed after the appointments committee unanimously chose him as the sole candidate, following a thorough examination of candidates, and the Supreme Court mandated Steinitz to put the candidacy to the cabinet vote.
Steinitz's aides are enraged by the attorney general's decision to postpone the vote, which they describe as "impudent", and they believe that it is the cabinet's right to vote against the appointment. For Steinitz the affair is extremely embarrassing and the vote on Sunday had been meant to put an end to the matter.
Regarding claims that Steinitz conducted a campaign to persuade ministers to oppose the appointment, sources in his office said that, "He was not the only minister that conducted this or that campaign on the subject." This was a reference to Minister of Justice Yaakov Neeman, who supports Asher's appointment. Asher was an articled clerk in Neeman's law office in the 1990s. The belief is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be asked to decide on the matter.
Steinitz's office said in response, "The Minister of Finance submitted the decision to the cabinet secretariat, and the responsibility of placing it before the cabinet rests with the cabinet secretariat. The minister of finance has met his obligations to the High Court of Justice."
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment.
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