One of the basic principles of the judicial system in a democratic country is the principle of equality before the law, which is the fundamental meaning of the rule of law.
The latter seeks to guarantee that no one is above the law regardless of their station in life, for if one person is above the law, others will follow, feeding a phenomenon that will snowball faster than anyone can stop.
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If one iota of this principle is compromised, the entire foundation will be in danger of collapsing, undermining the people's faith that those who have harmed them will be brought to justice.
For this reason, those who seek to undermine the solid reputation of former State Attorney Shai Nitzan to legitimize the tainted process that took place with regards to the investigation into Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit's alleged involvement in the Harpaz affair, are doomed to fail.
This was all but said by Mendelblit himself last year with one difference: he was talking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption investigation.
This hypocrisy knows no bounds. Channel 13 News' commentator Ayala Hasson has exposed the shame of senior Israeli justice officials – from Mendelblit and Nitzan to the heads of the current State Attorney's Office – who have come together to trample on the principle of equality before the law.
Both the Attorney General's Office and the State Attorney's Office have gone to great lengths to hide the part Mendelblit played in the Harpaz affair and closing the case – without giving an official, public reason for the decision – can only be described as an underhanded move.
But this issue has now come to light again and it seems that Nitzan and Mendelblit misled the court by asserting that the investigation was closed over "lack of evidence," meaning Mendelblit knew that according to the pure letter of the law, he was unfit to serve as attorney general.
Now that we know has Mendelblit done everything in his power to change the rules of the game in a manner that dealt a serious blow to the principle of equality before the law, he has to sept down.
Mendelblit has destroyed the public's faith in the judiciary. If he is allowed to be the "one person" who is above the law, others will follow and there will be no stopping it.
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