An associate of Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri, Avshalom Abarsha Ohayon, who was elected to the position of Director General of the National Center for Holy Places, has withdrawn his candidacy.
This was after an investigation was opened by the Government Companies Authority into the correctness of his election as CEO, after it was claimed that the procedure carried out was not professional but political, and due to the lack of appropriate documents and data. The Authority decided to open an investigation into the procedure and the directors who dealt with it.
This morning, Ohayon withdrew his candidacy, after realizing that the Companies Authority was going to reject his candidacy.
Ohayon claimed that he was giving up the appointment for the "good of the company.".
In a letter sent by Ohayon, he claimed: "Influential political forces and interested parties have joined forces with small foxes and begun a campaign to slander, maliciously and without discretion. It is my duty to protect those near and dear to me and stop this crazy dance of demons. I have placed before my eyes Solomon's sentence, 'Give her the living newborn.'".
Over the past month, Channel 12 published two investigations by Omri Maniv dealing with Ohayon's appointment to the position. Among other things, it emerged that his resume did not match the requirements of the position and that the appointment process was very flawed, with concerns about political pressure.
Ohayon is a veteran and well-known Shas activist and a prominent field figure for the party. He is primarily known as the chairman's man and is referred to as "Aryeh Deri's Tanzim activist.".
And so, four years after the disaster in Meron in which 45 people were killed, Ohayon was chosen for the critical position of "Manager of Meron", even though he received low scores on the suitability tests.
Competing against Ohayon were, among others, the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Moshe Mor Yosef, and the former head of the Jerusalem Cemeteries Council, Lt. Col. (res.) Hillel Horowitz, who has much more impressive experience. Horowitz also received a high score on Pilat's reasoning tests. Ohayon received a low score on these tests.
According to the investigation, just before the selection committee convened, the finance representative was replaced, and two of the three committee members were representatives of the Ministry of Religious Services. Both of them, coincidentally, gave Ohyon very high marks.
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