Gotliv’s leap into Ben Gvir’s arms is all about retaining her immunity from prosecution

Lawmaker Tally Gotliv is on her way out of Likud and into Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party — a move confirmed on Thursday evening. This is a defection driven not by ideology, but by a textbook case of political self-preservation.

Unfiltered and uninhibited as ever, Gotliv took the trouble to spell out in a Channel 14 interview on Tuesday why her departure from Likud to Ben Gvir’s far-right party was so urgent. “If, God forbid, Likud gets 19 seats, I’ll find myself in Shin Bet detention facilities,” Gotliv declared.

In other words, she has to jump ship to ensure that in the incoming 26th Knesset, she will be positioned to resubmit a request for parliamentary immunity from criminal prosecution. In her view, remaining in the No. 20 spot on the Likud slate leaves her at risk of finding herself outside the Knesset – an assessment that reflects a striking lack of confidence in Likud’s election day chances — and inside a high-security interrogation room.

In May 2026, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara delivered a copy of an indictment against Gotliv to the Knesset speaker, charging her with unlawfully revealing the identity of a covert Shin Bet officer who is the romantic partner of prominent anti-government protest leader Shikma Bressler. The offense, under the Shin Bet Law, carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.

Bressler was not any high-profile civilian; she served as the iconic driving force behind the massive 2023 mass demonstrations against the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul.

By targeting Bressler’s partner, Gotliv stoked a popular right-wing conspiracy theory that the “deep state” – specifically the Shin Bet and the military establishment – had covertly orchestrated the anti-government protests from behind the scenes. Outing a covert intelligence officer was a deliberate, illegal attempt to fabricate proof for that baseless narrative.

Because the allegations involve exposing an active intelligence operative, Gotliv faces severe national security charges rather than standard civil charges. This explains her ostensible horror at the prospect of finding herself in “Shin Bet detention facilities” – restricted interrogation centers designed for espionage and counter-terrorism suspects, where detainees can be held in isolation and denied access to legal counsel for days. It is a daunting prospect for a parliamentarian accustomed to broad legal privilege, though not a scenario she is actually likely to face, as I will explain lower down.

The concise indictment outlines how Gotliv exposed the officer’s name and relationship with Bressler “to a broad audience and with extensive exposure, knowingly, deliberately, continuously, conspicuously, and repeatedly.” She did so while citing a post on Edna Karnaval, a notorious fringe website masquerading as a legal news outlet that serves as a hub for extreme-right conspiracy theories, radical disinformation, and venomous attacks against the Israeli judiciary.

The indictment goes on to document the screenshots she posted, the millions of impressions they garnered, and the flood of comments, likes, and reposts her statements generated. Astonishingly, the post attributed to Gotliv in the indictment remains live on her X account to this day.

Following the indictment, Gotliv continued her barrage of falsehoods and conspiracy theories during hearings in the Knesset House Committee. She ultimately secured the protection of her party colleagues, who voted to grant her parliamentary immunity.

Under Israeli law, however, once a new Knesset convenes, the indictment may be refiled, requiring the incoming House Committee to reconsider the question of granting her immunity. By then, Gotliv will likely be a serving lawmaker as a member of Otzma Yehudit.

It is a high-stakes gamble: if Likud ends up in the opposition, or if Otzma Yehudit finds itself out of government, Gotliv may lack the political leverage to secure immunity a second time.

Furthermore, even if the 26th Knesset does vote to grant Gotliv immunity, a clear judicial precedent exists in which the High Court of Justice struck down a House Committee decision refusing to lift a lawmaker’s immunity. One way or another – as long as the High Court retains its constitutional authority – she will eventually stand trial. It may take time, but the legal process will run its course.

The ultimate outcome also presents a severe threat to Gotliv’s professional future. As an attorney facing criminal conviction, she risks losing her license to practice law. Gotliv frequently boasts of her legal acumen, so she is undoubtedly aware of this binding precedent.

Meanwhile, her stream of inflammatory public statements continues unabated. Her fearmongering regarding imminent visits to “Shin Bet detention facilities” is as baseless as the rest of her rhetoric. She is no longer facing investigation; after she refused to report for questioning, law enforcement filed the indictment without her testimony.

Likud blurs into the far right

Gotliv’s trajectory underscores the convergence between Likud and the Kahanist legacy party now operating as Otzma Yehudit.

Rooted in the extremist ideology of the late rabbi Meir Kahane – whose Kach movement was banned in Israel and designated a terrorist organization by the United States – Otzma Yehudit was once considered entirely beyond the political pale. Today, a mainstream Likud lawmaker can seamlessly switch allegiance to its ranks without hesitation.

MK Almog Cohen, who launched his political career within Ben Gvir’s far-right alliance, recently defected to Likud, where he was welcomed into the No. 8 spot on the primary list (No. 13 after reserved slots were assigned). In return, Gotliv is set to move from Likud directly into Ben Gvir’s faction, claiming the fourth spot on his ticket. Neither party has expressed reservations about these swaps, reflecting how closely aligned they have become.

The 27,000 Likud members who voted for Gotliv in the primary will see her depart, but she will remain a close ally. Judging by her relentless public output, she believes her presence could boost Otzma Yehudit by several seats, convinced that her supporters will follow her anywhere.

According to Gotliv, had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not waged an aggressive internal campaign against her, she would have secured a top spot on the Likud slate. From that vantage point as a leading figure in the ruling party, she claims she would have forcefully demanded the position of justice minister.

Now, she intends to demand that portfolio from Ben Gvir’s camp instead.

In leaked audio recordings broadcast by Channel 12 News this week, Gotliv was heard asserting that Netanyahu “is driven by a personal legal interest, and first and foremost puts the goal of escaping his trial ahead of every other interest.”

It is a striking accusation coming from a politician whose entire current strategy is dictated by a personal legal interest in retaining her parliamentary seat solely to evade prosecution. The psychological term for this phenomenon is projection: Gotliv attributes to Netanyahu the exact motives and behavioral patterns that govern her own actions.

Meanwhile, as her feuds escalate on social media, the public is offered a rare glimpse into the internal mechanics of Likud’s political machine. A case in point is a recent post directed at her by Eli (“The boss is pleased”) Feldstein, the former Netanyahu aide currently standing trial for leaking classified intelligence documents to the German newspaper Bild – an unauthorized disclosure that endangered a sensitive intelligence source and compromised efforts to secure the release of hostages. (Feldstein earned the moniker “the boss is pleased” following leaked text messages detailing Netanyahu’s satisfaction with his media operations.)

Feldstein publicly reminded Gotliv of how she rushed to generate a media spectacle when he was initially detained, implying that her social media feed served as a conduit for coordinated smear campaigns originating from the highest corridors of power.

This raises an obvious question: Was her reliance on the Edna Karnaval conspiracy similarly directed from those very same corridors?