Avichai Mandelblit: “The only consideration that guides me and the rest of us doing our work is to arrive at the truth. No external pressure will divert us from this consideration”

According to the source Mandelblit wants iron-clad proof of the prime minister’s guilt especially since previous efforts to indict Israeli politicians have been thrown out by the courts because of a lack of evidence. “That will not happen under his watch” the source said. “He sees that as an injustice to the prosecutors and the defendants.”

The source added that an ongoing investigation does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing and Mandelblit himself said this past week that the public and media should not jump to conclusions.

Netanyahu suffered two more blows last week. His personal attorney David Shimron was questioned in connection with bribery allegations over an IDF purchase of German submarines from a company that has been accused of bribery in many different countries. And the state comptroller criticized Netanyahu for his close association with a government official charged with providing confidential government documents to Bezeq that might have given the telecommunications firm an unfair competitive advantage.

While Netanyahu is not a suspect in either of those cases the mainstream leftist media has been more than happy to level guilt-by-association charges against him.

If Mandelblit himself has a political inclination he hasn’t made it clear to colleagues. Some lawyers who have worked with him insist that he is a leftist. Others believe his views are close to the Likud.

Some of his past efforts point to the former point of view. During his tenure as the chief military prosecutor attorneys general were granted entry for the first time to the operations rooms of brigade and division commanders so the lawyers could advise the commanders on how much force to use in a given military operation in real time. However others would say Mandelblit is apolitical on legal matters and devised a calculated approach to quiet international leftist groups and keep prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague from filing charges against IDF officers.

Mandelblit was also the first chief military prosecutor to order an investigation for every death of a Palestinian civilian. The left welcomed this while the right condemned the move. This policy was implemented for the first time after Operation Cast Lead. Some 400 combat soldiers were interrogated 50 investigations were opened and a handful of indictments were filed because of Mandelblit’s order. However once again Mandelblit defenders say this was a necessary tactic to deflect criticism from a United Nations investigative panel headed by Richard Goldstone which was preparing a very negative report on Israel. In fact Mandelblit’s decision was one of the few positives that the UN was able to highlight in its final report.

“I can say that he is balanced and he has a broad viewpoint and lots of honesty ” says one lawyer who has worked with the attorney general. “He hears everyone but the minute he reaches a decision no chief of general staff or prime minister will be able to dissuade him. It makes no difference what expectations that prime minister has of him and what he will try to dictate to him.”

Meanwhile the residents of Mandelblit’s Kfar Ganim neighborhood have warned that they will take legal action if the government does not distance the protesters from the attorney general’s home.

Mandelblit defended the right of the protesters to gather but also made clear that external pressure will not sway him.

“The right to demonstrate is one of the fundamentals of freedom of expression and as such it retains a preferred status in the democratic society of the State of Israel. At the same time the law enforcement system is entirely independent and the only consideration that guides me and the rest of us doing our work is to arrive at the truth. No external pressure will divert us from this consideration.” (Originally featured in Mishpacha Issue 669)