High Court petitioned to oust Hollander

Civil Service Commissioner accused of systematically ignoring the severe malfunctions which he has caused.

By DAN IZENBERG
hollander 298 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
hollander 298 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
The Movement for Quality Government (MQG) on Sunday petitioned the High Court of Justice to dismiss Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander "for systematically ignoring the severe malfunctions [in his organization] even though he is responsible for them." This was the second time the MQG has filed a petition calling for Hollander's dismissal since State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss issued a harsh report against Hollander and the Civil Service Commission on May 9, 2006. In that report, Lindenstrauss accused Hollander of promoting his personal assistant, Edna Alfassi, to the position of deputy director-general for administration, even though she did not have the qualifications for the job. Lindenstrauss also charged that Hollander had routinely allowed the Finance, Justice, Agriculture, and Welfare and Social Services ministries to hire new employees before holding a tender for their positions. Between 2002 and 2004, 55 percent of those who won tenders in those ministries had been hired and gained experience before the tender was published. Hollander retorted that Lindenstrauss's report was tendentious, unprofessional and rife with mistakes. On July 3, 2006, less than two months after the State Comptroller's Report was published, the MQG petitioned the High Court for the first time. A few months later, it withdrew the petition after the state informed the court that it was working on plans to limit the terms of office for various public office-holders, including the civil service commissioner. Hollander has held the position for more than 11 years. More than a year has passed since the MQG withdrew its first petition. In its second petition, the watchdog organization said the government had had enough time to complete the work. "Three years [have gone by] since the task force began its work, and more than a year since the state made its declaration before the court, and the term of office of the senior public servants, including that of the civil service commissioner, have still not been limited," the petitioners wrote. In view of that, they asked the court for an urgent hearing on the petition.