Israel Prize judges disqualified for politics restored to panel

The controversy surrounding the Israel Prize for Literature appears to be dying down, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had accepted a legal opinion saying the prime minister must refrain from interfering with the prize ahead of elections.

Legal adviser to the Prime Minister's Office Shlomit Barnea-Farago responded on Friday to a letter from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, saying that Netanyahu would respect Weinstein's instruction not to intervene in the appointment of Israel Prize judges in the period leading up to the March 17 elections. Farago's letter also said that if Netanyahu were to form the next government, he would appoint a committee to establish criteria for the appointment of judges for the Israel Prize.

It was announced Saturday that the Education Ministry had invited two of the judges removed from the panel, professors Ariel Hirschfeld and Avner Holtzman, to return and serve on this year's Literature Prize committee, and that both had agreed to do so.

Earlier, professors Nissim Calderon, Nurith Gretz and Ephraim Hazan -- who resigned in protest over the decision to exclude Hirschfeld and Holtzman from the panel -- also announced that they would rejoin the judging committee. However, the three warned that releasing their names "created a very serious threat to fair, professional judging. We will return to judge in practice only after the attorney general finds a way to guarantee that the process is proper."

It remains to be seen which of the writers who were candidates for the prize and withdrew in protest over the judges' removal will reinstate themselves. Author Sami Michael, who withdrew his candidacy in protest, told Israel Hayom on Friday that he would not change his mind. In a post on his Facebook page, Michael wrote, "Israeli literature has been unnecessarily and embarrassingly shaken up because of recent events."

Authors David Grossman and Yitzhak Ben Ner also removed themselves from the running in protest. Grossman told Channel 2 News that "the spirit and the quality of the [Israel] Prize have been damaged this year, and it's hard to pretend that nothing happened."

President Reuven Rivlin said, "The Israel Prize is close to everyone's heart, on the Right and the Left. It represents a common denominator for Israeli society, one of the last we have left, and represents rare agreement on the spiritual, cultural, literary, scientific, and ethical depths of us as a people. I appeal to the judges and the candidates who resigned and am asking them to come back and take part in choosing the [laureates of] the Israel Prize. Let's protect the Israel Prize, for all our sakes."

Labor leader Isaac Herzog said on Saturday, "Netanyahu didn't really intend to replace the Israel Prize judges. His intention was to create another spin to try and make people forget about the darkness left by his six years in office. He has brought us darkness in security, darkness in the cost of living, and darkness in housing. That's why no spin or distraction will help him."

Author Amos Oz also spoke out about the Israel Prize controversy. At an event for supporters of the left-wing Meretz party held over the weekend, Oz said that "almost 70 percent of the [Israeli] public doesn't read literature. Maybe Israel Hayom, yes, but not literature. Should 70 percent of the judging committee comprise people who don't read literature, for democratic reasons-"

According to Oz, "Fifteen percent of society are [ultra-Orthodox], who not only don't read Hebrew literature, they oppose it. So for democratic reasons, should judging committees include members who oppose Hebrew literature? Netanyahu doesn't want to replace the committee, but rather the judges, the writers, the neighbors, and if possible, anyone who doesn't agree with him."

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו