(JNi.media) Following a letter written by Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber, concerning the participation of Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan in a demonstration in the “illegal outpost of Hazon David,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked invited Zilber’s boss, AG Yehuda Weinstein, to her office for some clarifications, Army Radio reported Tuesday.
Hazon David is a synagogue in Kiryat Arba, the ownership of which has been contested by Arabs and by the Israeli Supreme Court. It has been demolished countless times by the IDF and rebuilt as many times by local Jewish residents.
In her letter, sent to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and leaked to Channel 2 News, Zilber wrote: “The fact that the deputy minister is taking part in illegal activities and thus encourages it in violation of the law, is unacceptable and severely damages public confidence in the government. I ask for your immediate intervention and your instructing the deputy Minister not to act illegally.”
Ben-Dahan responded with his own letter, to Shaked and Weinstein, noting that Zilber never bothered to endow him with a copy of her letter, even though Channel 2 News somehow got hold of a copy. He also requested an examination of the following points:
1. Ms. Zilber never spoke to me about my participation in the Kiryat Arba event, and neither did any of her subordinates, so how can she accuse me of something that to this day I know not what it is?
2. The claims in Zilber’s letters are inaccurate to say the least. The event in which I participated took place on the main road leading to the Cave of the Patriarchs, dozens of yards away from Hazon David, and its purpose was to boost the morale of the residents of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, who learn every day, unfortunately, of yet another terror attack in their midst. Participants in the event included military and police officials, and the police helped running it.
3. It is a serious issue in my opinion that a civil servant, no matter how senior, is calling for action against an elected official, the more so when she hadn’t checked the facts.
4. In addition, I am not clear on how Zilber’s letter reached the media directly, even before it reached me? This episode carries the sharp odor of an attempt to humiliate a public official and not an honest effort to correct a situation.
Sincerely, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, Deputy Defense Minister.
Neither Weinstein nor Shaked have made a statement on the matter so far, but sources in the AG’s office told Army Radio the AG plans to issue a clarification.