A governmental vetting committee on Thursday nixed Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu’s nominee to lead the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Hebrew media reported the committee, led by retired judge Shulamit Dotan, blocked Esther Schreiber because the tender that led to Schreiber’s selection in May featured lower criteria than demanded by law.
Haaretz cited sources who had seen the decision as saying Schreiber failed to satisfy the legal requirements to be IAA director, which, under Israel’s 1975 Government Companies Law, include five years of senior managerial experience.
The newspaper and other outlets previously reported that Schreiber had significantly embellished her resume, including by exaggerating the size of a religious advocacy organization she managed.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, head of Eliyahu’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, claimed the “deep state” had blocked Schreiber because she is visibly observant.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
“The official reason — legal. The real reason — a religious CEO with a head covering doesn’t sit right with the deep state,” Ben Gvir wrote on X.
Esther Schreiber, whom Heritage Minister Amichay Elyahu selected on May 12, 2026, as the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority, pending final approval by the IAA council and the government, is seen in an undated photo. (Flash photography)
The High Court earlier this month declined to block Schreiber’s appointment. Ahead of a hearing on the matter, Eliyahu sent Justice Yechiel Kasher a highly unusual text message asking him “to help safeguard our right — and our duty — to implement the policy for which we were elected.” The judge panned the minister over the move.
Schreiber, like the current IAA head Eli Escozido and his predecessor, Israel Hasson, does not have a background in archaeology.
Her selection for IAA chief came as the government sought to establish a separate antiquities authority, also under the Heritage Ministry, to oversee archaeological activities in the West Bank and Gaza. Critics in Israeli academia and the Palestinian Authority have said the effort amounts to de facto annexation, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly halted the legislative process earlier this month amid the controversy.
Rosella Tercatin contributed to this report.
We can’t do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I’ll join
Yes, I’ll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
