Netanyahu Nixes Two 'Israel Prize' Panelists

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recent decision to dismiss two members of the judges' panel for the Israel Prize in Literature prompted the six remaining panelists to resign.

Netanyahu defended his decision on his Facebook page.

??"The committee that chooses the winners of the Israel Prize must be balanced and faithfully reflect a variety of ideologies, attitudes and dimensions of Israeli society," Netanyahu wrote.

"But over the years, more and more extremists were appointed to the judging committee, including anti-Zionist elements -- such as those who support refusal to serve in the IDF -- and too little authentic representatives of large parts of the nation," he continued.

"This situation in which a small and closed group with extreme positions passes the baton from hand to hand and retains control over the selection of the winners of the Israel Prize has to change because the Israel Prize belongs to all the people of Israel," Netanyahu said.