Israel’s High Court of Justice has delayed the posting of Ambassador-designate Itamar Rabinovich to Washington, pending hearings on a challenge to his appointment.
The court on Tuesday issued an injunction barring Rabinovich from taking up his post until it rules on a petition by Gonen Segev of the right-wing Tsomet party.
The opposition Knesset member asked the court to order the government to reverse the appointment of Rabinovich, a prominent academic and Israel’s chief negotiator with Syria.
Segev’s petition came in the wake of disclosures that Rabinovich recently paid an indemnity to the tax authorities.
The petitioner argued that the payment proved the ambassador-designate had committed an offense and that the Cabinet had not been aware of that fact when appointing him to a top diplomatic post.
Justice Eliahu Matza said a three-member bench would take up the case as soon as possible since Rabinovich is due to take up his new post in early February.
Rabinovich issued a public statement through his tax lawyer last weekend emphasizing that he had made the payment as a goodwill gesture and was probably not even required to do so.
Attorney Pinchas Rubin said Rabinovich, ignoring his lawyer’s advice, insisted on making the payment for money he had earned some years ago in the United States.
Rabinovich has been negotiating with Syria on the basis of government willingness to make territorial concessions on the Golan Heights, a policy opposed by right-wing parties such as Tsomet.
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