Israel's State Prosecution will likely see a reshuffle in the coming months, after Deputy State Prosecutor for Special Affairs Shai Nitzan completes his eight-year term in February. Nitzan is eyeing the position currently held by attorney Eli Abarbanel, who is in charge of the Jerusalem District Criminal Division in the State Prosecution and a leading candidate to replace Nitzan. Abarbanel, who is set to complete his eight-year tenure in February as well, has already filed the necessary paperwork to become the deputy state prosecutor. Abarbanel successfully convicted Defense Minister Itzchak "Itzik" Mordechay on several counts of sexual harassment several years ago, bringing an end to the top general's rising political career. He is currently a prosecutor in one of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's corruption trials. A government tender committee will review both Nitzan and Abarbanel's applications when it convenes in the coming weeks. Although the committee will have other contenders to consider, a swap between the two is the most likely scenario. Nitzan, who coveted the job of state prosecutor in 2007 but lost to Moshe Lador, was considered a protege of Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch when the latter served as state prosecutor during the early 1990s. As one of the top law enforcement officials in cases involving illegal outposts and alleged incitement by rabbis or settlers, Nitzan has become a bugbear of the Right, which frequently accuses him of political persecution. Nitzan has been appointed round-the-clock protection since January, after a video surfaced online containing hateful comments against him. The video ended with a caption saying Kahane was right, referring to the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, a right-wing extremist and former MK assassinated in New York in 1990. The video was apparently posted to protest Nitzan's decision to launch a police investigation into whether posts on two forums on the social media site Facebook incited racial hatred against Arabs. In June, Nitzan's decision to order the arrest of the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba and one of the leaders of the religious Zionism movement, Rabbi Dov Lior, after the latter failed to show up for police questioning, launched an uproar among the rabbi's supporters. Lior's supporters accused Nitzan of using disproportionate force, of having the police "ambush" the rabbi's car and take him to their offices, where they questioned him for alleged incitement to murder in the introduction he wrote to the book "Torat Hamelech" ("The Way of the King"). The book, authored by prominent settler rabbis, deals with the Jewish legal status of non-Jews, with detractors claiming it relegates non-Jews to a lower caste, possibly even justifying their killing. Two right-wing activists attempted to break into Nitzan's home in the immediate aftermath of the event. At the time, top Justice Ministry officials lined up to defend him from the Right's angry criticism. Nitzan has since tried to mend fences with the Right. In August he invited top rabbis from the religious-Zionist community to a frank discussion with his senior staff.
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