1. Avichai Mandelblit is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022.
17 Facts About Avichai Mandelblit
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In November 2019, following a three-year investigation, Avichai Mandelblit formally indicted Israel's sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on three charges of fraud and breach of trust, and one charge of bribery.
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Avichai Mandelblit's father, a clothing merchant and deputy head of the Israel Football Association, was an Irgun veteran and member of the right-wing Herut party.
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At age 26, Avichai Mandelblit became an Orthodox Jew and a disciple of rabbi Baruch Ashlag.
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Avichai Mandelblit postponed his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces to attend Tel Aviv University as part of the Atuda program.
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Avichai Mandelblit joined the IDF in 1985, after graduating with a bachelor's degree in law.
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Avichai Mandelblit was among the harsh critics of the Goldstone Report, stating:.
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Avichai Mandelblit made it look like we set out to go after the economic infrastructure and civilians, that it was intentional.
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On 15 September 2011, Avichai Mandelblit was succeeded as the Chief Military Advocate General by Danny Efroni.
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Avichai Mandelblit was appointed Attorney General of Israel in 2016, with the support of Netanyahu and his Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
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Avichai Mandelblit opposed Section 7 of the proposed nation-state law, which would have allowed Jewish communal settlements to refuse to accept non-Jewish residents.
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In July 2016, Avichai Mandelblit opened an initial review of Netanyahu's conduct in an unspecified case, and was criticized by some on the left who viewed Avichai Mandelblit as protecting the prime minister.
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In January 2017, Avichai Mandelblit approved law enforcement questioning of Netanyahu in connection with Case 1000.
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In December 2018, after State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan recommended that Netanyahu be indicted, Avichai Mandelblit announced that he would "work quickly" to decide whether to indict Netanyahu.
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Avichai Mandelblit said he would not act "at the expense of quality decisions and professionalism" and "would not be influenced by anything other than the evidence and the law".
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In February 2019, Avichai Mandelblit announced he had accepted police recommendations to indict Netanyahu on three charges and that an indictment would be formally issued following a hearing.
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On 21 November 2019, Avichai Mandelblit indicted Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust and fraud and breach of public trust.