Interesting twist

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced today that he was closing the fraud investigation against Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger.

However, Mazuz then said:

we found that in view of the significant flaws in Metzger's behavior and his way of conducting himself, it would be appropriate in these circumstances were he to assume personal responsibility and decide himself to resign from his job as a judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court and as chief rabbi. He should do so out of recognition of the importance of the dignity and status of the institution of the Chief Rabbinate and the system of rabbinical courts. I hope he will do so.

Boo-ya! Metzger's people are furious, of course, and are accusing Meni of trying to try the Rabbi in the court of public opinion. But what's interesting is that people from the left AND right are finally standing up, taking notice, and telling Metzger- "screw you."

Quotes galore:

"I'm calling on Rabbi Metzger to resign his post in order to safeguard the honor of the Chief Rabbinate," Knesset Member Yitzhak Levy (National Union-NRP) said. "The Rabbinate needs to symbolize the Jewish values of morality and public decency, and must not be tainted by suspicions of corruption."

Meanwhile, leftist Knesset Member Avshalom (Abu) Vilan from Meretz said: "I'm calling on Metzger to heed the attorney general's recommendation and resign at once."

Labor Knesset Member Ophir Pines said that "in light of the serious affair, there's no possibility for Rabbi Metzger to remain in his post."

Some thoughts: on the one hand, Mazuz's going to the press instead of merely doing his job is a little disturbing and unprofessional.

At the same time, I'm rather impressed at his willingness to say, "Yes, you were too smart for me, but we've also caught you being an asshole red-handed", and to leave it to the people to decide if they care enough to fight about it. While populism can definitely be a two-handed sword, if it results in getting a corrupt and bumbling figurehead out of the Chief Rabbi's post, I'm for it. And it's nice to see a Meretz and NRP MK agreeing on something once and a while.

Could this be the sign of a new, no lower-BS policy in Israel? Let's wait and see how things progress.