Edelstein finds no fault in Regev’s behavior

Likud MK berated whistleblower for reporting mayor to authorities.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Yuli Edelstein 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Yuli Edelstein 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
There is no fault in Knesset Interior Committee chairwoman Miri Regev (Likud Beytenu) berating a whistleblower in a committee meeting, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said on Monday.
The decision came several days after Regev invited Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso – who was indicted for fraud, bribery and other financial crimes – and his municipality’s legal adviser, Olga Gordon, who reported him for those crimes, to a committee meeting on “work relations between the elected officials and bureaucrats in municipalities.”
Gapso, a Likud member for whom Regev campaigned in last month’s municipal election, was the only mayor invited to the meeting, most of which the committee chairwoman spent chastising Gordon.
Regev threw lawmakers who protested out of the meeting, and some of them, including MK Miki Rosenthal (Labor), submitted complaints to Edelstein.
On Monday, Edelstein’s office released a statement that, following a meeting with Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon, he found that there was nothing wrong with Regev’s behavior.
Edelstein also called on Regev and all other committee chairpeople to be more statesmanlike and ensure civilized debate.
However, soon after, it came to light that Yinon did not say Regev’s behavior was not problematic and did not give a written legal opinion.
Edelstein’s office said that he and Yinon do not have the tools to deal with Regev’s actions, but would not clarify who found no fault in them.