Top Bar Association officials resign over Chief's behavior

"The Israeli Bar Association is not a private business," they wrote, "we decided to place the public at the top of our priorities."

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Israeli Supreme Court (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Israeli Supreme Court
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Deputy Chief of the Israeli bar association Moshe Tayb and two of his deputies, Maayan Amodai and Shahr Orgad, resigned on Tuesday over ongoing allegations against chief of the Bar association Efi Nave.
In an official letter, the three said they quit as under his leadership the status of the bar association is decreasing.
"The Israeli Bar Association is not a private business," they wrote, "we decided to place the public at the top of our priorities." 
Nave allegedly tried to exit and enter the country unlawfully with a romantic partner and was caught by border police. 
He also influenced the selection of judges before he was appointed to the committee that oversees the selection process Globes reported on Sunday. 
Nave resigned from his role in the committee following his border-crossing incident, yet on Sunday he admitted in court he was involved in the selection of judges even before he served on the committee.
He admitted that as part of an ongoing libel case in which he sued reporter Sharon Sforer for publishing a series of articles on social media and on the news site "Hottest Place in Hell" claiming Nave had influenced the selections of judges in an unlawful manner.
Nave sued the reporter for the sum of one million nis and was forced by the court to answer the question if he influenced the selection of judges in the past before her was assigned his place on the committee.
Residing judge Gilad Hess rejected a request by Sforer that Nave be compelled to reveal the names of the judges he supported as that would harm a third party not involved in the case.