Coalition leaders said to agree on plan for axing AG, but put off public announcement
Still unclear whether move has enough support, given that it will likely spark massive protests; opposition slams government for focusing on issue when soldiers dying in Gaza
Coalition leaders have reportedly agreed in principle on how to move forward with the controversial firing of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The effort to oust the attorney general has been pushed for months by far-right coalition lawmakers, but even amid a flurry of reports on Monday regarding developments toward that goal, it is unclear whether the initiative has enough support, given the widespread protests it will likely trigger.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of the move, failed to secure the support of a majority of ministers in a letter on the subject that he circulated last month.
The Kan public broadcaster said coalition leaders decided during a Monday meeting to begin the process of firing Baharav-Miara by holding a preliminary hearing at a cabinet meeting during which she would be asked to defend her record.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded that the hearing take place at the next cabinet meeting on Sunday, but ministers decided to allow Justice Minister Yariv Levin to decide on the timing, the report said.
No statement was issued to the public about the coalition decision, though, with Kan saying Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Shas MK Yinon Azoulay asked that the ruling bloc hold off on the move. Sa’ar and Azoulay are considered less hardline figures within the coalition.
Channel 12 reported that the coalition heads decided against issuing a public statement so that the decision would not be perceived as a politically motivated one, given that Ben Gvir had issued an ultimatum threatening to quit the government if Baharav-Miara isn’t fired.
Levin wasn’t even in the room when the decision was made because he stormed out earlier due to frustration with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Hebrew media said.
Smotrich had urged the coalition leaders to advance legislation to split the role of the attorney general in order to limit the power of the gatekeeper position.
Levin immediately pushed back against that idea, arguing that he wants to prioritize his own controversial legislation to alter the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee in the government’s favor. The justice minister is facing a January 16 deadline for the panel to appoint a new Supreme Court chief justice and has been aiming to pass his bill in time to ensure that a more conservative judge will be appointed.
Smotrich denied that the issue of the Judicial Selection Committee even came up during the Monday meeting, with his office issuing a statement calling reports to the contrary “puzzling.”
Frustrated over the lack of backing for his agenda from coalition lawmakers, Levin left the meeting in protest, Kan said.
Communications Minister Karhi appeared to confirm the widespread reports that the coalition had agreed to move forward with Baharav-Miara’s ouster.
“The decision of the coalition leaders to begin the process of dismissing the attorney general is a courageous and necessary step to correct serious distortions that have taken root in the Israeli legal system,” he said.
“The time has come to restore the balance between the powers [of government] and end the unchecked rule of unelected officials.”
He further called the process of removing Baharav-Miara “an important step on the path to freeing the State of Israel from the shackles of extremist legal activism.”
MK Benny Gantz, who chairs the opposition National Unity party, slammed the government’s conduct in a statement regarding the developments.
“Instead of meeting to discuss the reconstruction of the north and the south, this detached government is dealing with ambushing the attorney general,” Gantz wrote on X.
The Yesh Atid opposition party issued a similar statement blasting the reported decision.
“The evening three heroes fell fighting in Gaza was also the evening the coalition celebrated the advancement of the attorney general’s firing,” the party said in a statement. “There is a painful disconnect between those who give their lives for the country and those who take everything from it.”
The opposition’s Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman also criticized the government, tweeting that, rather than working to return the hostages held in Gaza or draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis to the military, the coalition is taking the “reckless” action of firing the attorney general.
“A government that abandons its soldiers and citizens and prioritizes preserving the coalition over our security is unfit to lead the State of Israel,” Liberman charged.
A growing number of coalition lawmakers and cabinet ministers have called for ousting the attorney general due to their frustration with her refusal to defend various controversial and unprecedented measures the government seeks to advance, which Baharav-Miara 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 alleged wrongdoing by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides.
Levin was the key driving force last year behind the government’s judicial overhaul initiative, which sought to advance legislation aimed at radically watering down the authority of judges or judicial officials to act as a check on the cabinet or Knesset. The hugely divisive program sparked unprecedented nationwide demonstrations and made little headway before being put on the back burner following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and ensuing war in Gaza.
Recent weeks have seen Levin and the judiciary cross swords anew over the justice minister’s refusal to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and have it confirm Justice Isaac Amit as Supreme Court president. Levin, who views Amit as too liberal, has attempted to block his appointment for more than a year in hopes of installing committee members more in line with the government’s agenda.
The Times of Israel Community.