Bill to prevent prosecution of soldiers who send intel to PM passes preliminary reading
A separate bill to prohibit opening investigations into MKs without the Knesset’s approval also advances past the preliminary stage
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"
Two controversial bills aimed at shielding lawmakers and members of the defense establishment from prosecution passed preliminary readings in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday, drawing harsh condemnations from opposition MKs.
The first bill would prevent the prosecution of soldiers or other members of the defense establishment who give classified intelligence to the prime minister or defense minister without authorization. The bill passed 59-52 and will now go to a committee in preparation for the first of three subsequent votes necessary for it to become law.
Coalition lawmakers submitted the proposed law in response to charges against two individuals over the leaking of classified documents. One, an unnamed IDF noncommissioned officer, is accused of removing classified documents from military systems and sending them to Eli Feldstein, who served as a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Feldstein is the second suspect, and is accused of leaking the classified material to the German newspaper Bild in September in an effort to sway public opinion against a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group.
The bill has been dubbed the “Feldstein Law,” though this is a misnomer, as it would actually only address the actions of the NCO in the case.
In the wake of the pair’s arrest, Netanyahu alleged that vital classified documents weren’t reaching him, which was why the suspects passed them from the Israel Defense Forces to the Prime Minister’s Office — a claim that the military and defense establishment, which oppose the bill, have rejected. Officials have argued that the premier receives documents deemed most relevant by intelligence professionals and that these should move through the proper channels.
The law’s proponents — Likud MKs Hanoch Milwidsky and Amit Halevi — have argued the legislation is necessary because “even during the war, critical documents regarding the enemy’s intentions did not reach the desks of decision-makers in the political leadership.”
Welcoming the bill’s advancement on Wednesday, Milwidsky claimed without offering evidence that Israeli democracy “is under attack by a bureaucratic echelon that thinks it is right and proper to hide information from a political echelon that has responsibility.”
“People who took it upon themselves to provide information to the prime minister are being persecuted,” he alleged. “This bill seeks to clarify: If you have information that you think should reach a senior political official and the person in charge of you refuses to pass it on – go ahead and pass the information on, we will protect you.”
While the bill enjoys the support of the coalition, it has drawn the ire of both Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara — who has said it could constitute “improper political interference” in a criminal case concerning individuals close to Netanyahu — and opposition lawmakers.
Following Wednesday’s vote, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused the PMO of “being caught red-handed leaking secret documents to the foreign press.”
Railing against the bill from the Knesset rostrum, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accused coalition lawmakers of opening up a front against the country’s security services in the middle of a war.
“You decided to break the chain of command in the IDF,” the former army chief of staff and defense minister stated, arguing that the prime minister “can and should see any significant intelligence material, including raw material,” but that “nobody is hiding anything from him.”
“The prime minister has access to materials that I, as chief of staff and defense minister, did not see,” Gantz added, declining to provide details.
Immunity for lawmakers
Lawmakers also voted 57-53 to advance a bill sponsored by firebrand Likud MK Tally Gotliv that boosts MKs’ parliamentary immunity.
The bill would prohibit opening an investigation into a lawmaker or hearing a civil suit against a lawmaker unless the Knesset determines, by a majority of 90 in the plenum, that the action of which the legislator is accused is not connected to the performance of their duties.
It would not apply to cases of fraud and breach of trust, and Gotliv has clarified that it would also not affect an ongoing NIS 2.6 million ($715,000) civil defamation case against her.
In the bill’s explanatory notes, Gotliv argued that Israeli courts “do not have the tools to intervene, assess or determine the framework for the fulfillment of the MK’s duties, or what is done for the fulfillment of these duties.”
Welcoming the bill’s advancement, Gotliv accused the attorney general of launching investigations into MKs in cases where “there is clear immunity” and said that the only ones who should be allowed to determine the extent of lawmakers’ immunity are the lawmakers themselves.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin told lawmakers said that while the bill as presently written requires “significant adjustments,” it points to an underlying situation that is “unacceptable and dangerous to democracy,” in which the final word on immunity belongs to courts, “undermining the entire idea of immunity.”
Among those who voted against the bill were Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, both members of the New Hope party, whose coalition agreement with Likud allows its members to vote independently on issues relating to the judiciary.
Speaking with The Times of Israel last week, Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, explained that over the years, Israeli courts have narrowed the immunity granted to lawmakers to activities performed as part of their official duties and that in trying to push back against this trend, Gotliv was essentially turning the Knesset into a “refuge” for potential criminality.
Many police investigations require secrecy in their initial stages and, if passed, the bill would effectively bar police from investigating crimes ranging from sexual offenses to theft and terrorism without first gaining the approval of a supermajority of lawmakers.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
