Attorney general to be summoned before cabinet to defend record – report
Hearing on Gali Baharav-Miara’s performance to be followed by non-binding vote of no-confidence, with coalition still unable to come to agreement on her termination
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
In light of growing calls in the coalition for her termination, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will reportedly be summoned to a hearing before the full cabinet to defend her record sometime in the coming weeks.
According to reports by the Haaretz daily and Kan national broadcaster, the hearing, which will not be part of an official impeachment proceeding, will be followed by a non-binding vote of no-confidence and a declaration that Baharav-Miara has lost the government’s trust.
A growing number of coalition lawmakers and cabinet ministers have called to fire the attorney general, due to their frustration with her refusal to defend various controversial and unprecedented measures the government seeks to advance, which she has determined would be unlawful.
The disagreements — over issues ranging from the selection of the civil service commissioner to daycare subsidies for draft dodgers — have increased during ongoing investigations into the premier’s staff.
Baharav-Miara will reportedly be presented with a document summarizing the ministers’ complaints about her conduct, to which she will be given an opportunity to respond.
The so-called evidence file contains complaints by various ministers who alleged that the attorney general sought to thwart government decisions, declined to represent the state before the High Court, and intervened in the matter of professional appointments, Channel 12 reported.
The television network published letters by both Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir listing various actions of the attorney general to which they objected.
Writing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this summer, Chikli alleged that Baharav-Miara had taken sides against the government in litigation and engaged in “selective enforcement,” declining to prosecute people for incitement against senior officials or protesters who used violence against police during anti-government protests.
In a separate letter to Justice Minister Yariv Levin last month, Ben Gvir accused Baharav-Miara of “interfering” in police appointments and opposing his formation of a national guard force.
The letter was published shortly after Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu that he must reevaluate Ben Gvir’s tenure in light of the latter’s repeated and ongoing intervention in operational police matters and his politicization of police promotions. Ben Gvir has accused Baharav-Miara of searching for a legal pretext to take action against him.
Tuesday’s Haaretz report was published less than a day after Ben Gvir, one of the most vocal critics of the attorney general, broke coalition discipline and voted against the state budget, in an effort to force the cabinet to move forward with her termination.
Ben Gvir’s revolt followed the last-minute cancellation of a planned meeting of Netanyahu’s senior coalition allies on the topic.
According to national broadcaster Kan, four coalition party chiefs declined to attend the gathering, which had been organized by an aide to Netanyahu and was scheduled to take place within his Knesset bureau — sparking concern that it could constitute a violation of the prime minister’s conflict of interest arrangement.
If Netanyahu were to fire Baharav-Mirara, that could violate the premier’s conflict of interest arrangement, drafted in 2020 by then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit. The High Court had ordered Netanyahu to sign off on the arrangement so he could continue to serve as prime minister, while on criminal trial for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.
Ben Gvir later Monday began circulating a proposed joint statement announcing just such a vote, drawing opposition from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who earlier in the day had said that an overhaul of the judiciary ought to remain on hold until after the war.
In response, Ben Gvir released multiple statements against his former electoral ally, including a video message in which he called on him to “stop providing the attorney general with a lifeline.”
Speaking with The Times of Israel, MK Ohad Tal, a member of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, derided Ben Gvir’s behavior as “stupid and childish” — and argues that his crusade was “ridiculous” because the coalition had already decided on Sunday “to move forward with the process of firing the attorney general.”
However, there’s a “whole process” to be followed and it’s not something that will happen overnight, he cautioned. “He wants to show that it’s not Yariv Levin and not Bezalel Smotrich who are leading it, but him. He wants to make a show that he’s the one leading everything.”
According to press reports, despite significant support among coalition leaders, party leaders failed to reach final decisions on how to handle the issues of firing the attorney general during Sunday’s meeting due to ultra-Ortjodox demands that the coalition first pass legislation aimed at enshrining in law their constituents’ exemption from military service.
Following Monday evening’s plenum session, Ben Gvir met with Netanyahu but the two were unable to reach an understanding, according to press reports.
Although government regulations say that a minister who votes against his own government’s budget can be viewed as having resigned, Netanyahu is unlikely to fire him, Likud sources told Hebrew media.
