The Central Election Committee (CEC) selected its new legal advisor on Monday, causing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party to claim that the appointment was invalid due to a procedural issue and a lack of consultation with the civil service commissioner.
Opposition lawmakers criticized Netanyahu on Tuesday for attempting to interfere in the election process and for choosing to address the matter during wartime.
The CEC is the official, autonomous body responsible for oversight and all organizational and logistical aspects of elections. The upcoming elections are currently scheduled to take place no later than October.
Heading the CEC is Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, who rejected Likud’s claims against the appointment of attorney Yifat Siminovski as its new legal advisor.
The CEC said on Monday that Siminovski’s selection was approved “unanimously, following a multi-stage, thorough, and professional recruitment process.”
It also noted that Siminovski has held a series of senior positions in both the public and private sectors, combining expertise in law, notably administrative and public procurement law, and in technology and advanced technologies.
In her most recent public service role, she served as a senior official in the legal advisory division of the technological directorate and administrative headquarters within the National Cyber Directorate at the Prime Minister’s Office, the CEC noted.
Attorney Yifat Siminovski's expertise
Her appointment was reportedly influenced by her expertise in technology, especially as developments in artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly change the nature of the upcoming elections. The legal advisor's role is considered a key oversight position within the CEC.
The Likud’s letter to Sohlberg, arguing against the appointment, sharply criticized Simonovski, saying she was insufficiently grounded in legal experience. It stated, “One could almost be confused: Was a legal advisor chosen, or a technology and cyber expert?”
“As is known, the Central Elections Committee is not a hi-tech company, and its legal advisor is not a ‘cyber risk manager.’ This is one of the most sensitive and important legal positions in Israeli democracy, entrusted with interpreting basic laws, managing complex political petitions, and representing the Elections Committee in the courts,” the letter read.
Sohlberg rejected Likud’s letter on Monday, calling the claims within it “incorrect.”
“Rest assured, the Central Elections Committee is staffed by outstanding professionals of the highest caliber,” he responded.
He added that, in the future, it would be better to “study the issue thoroughly, based on a correct and exhaustive factual foundation, before making vague claims concerning this or that person.”
Sohlberg also noted that it would have been preferable to approach the CEC directly, rather than publicly through the media, thereby avoiding “unnecessary harm to a person’s dignity.”
According to some reports, Netanyahu’s letter to the CEC was intended to pressure the committee.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of “trying to steal the election” in a Tuesday statement: “Netanyahu is ramping up attempts to steal the elections; they began already half a year ago, and are intensifying in recent days.”
“This is why last year, Yesh Atid established a team of lawyers led by MK Karine Elharrar, designed to fight attempts by Netanyahu and his people to steal the elections,” Lapid said.
“If anyone still needed proof, we got it this week. In the midst of the war with Iran, while you’re in shelters, Netanyahu is trying to interfere in the appointment of the legal advisor to the Central Elections Committee,” the opposition leader added.
Last month, Netanyahu’s rival candidate, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, filed a complaint to the Central Elections Committee against the Likud Party for posting an AI-generated image in which he, alongside Lapid, appeared to be celebrating with Arab party leaders.
The CEC subsequently ruled that Likud must remove the picture from its X/Twitter account and pay Bennett NIS 8,500 in legal fees that had accumulated in the matter.