Justice minister urges boycott of Shin Bet chief if High Court nullifies his firing
Yariv Levin dismisses notion that boycotting head of spy agency could harm national security, says Ronen Bar would ‘get up and leave’ before it reaches that point
Justice Minister Yariv Levin called on the government Saturday to “stop cooperating” with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar if the High Court of Justice rules that the cabinet’s decision to fire him is invalid.
Levin’s comments to the right-wing Channel 14 television network came days before the High Court is slated to hear petitions against Bar’s dismissal on Tuesday.
“We need to do exactly what we did with [Supreme Court President Isaac] Amit, we won’t cooperate with him, won’t work with him,” Levin said, referring to his boycott of the country’s top justice, who was appointed to his post in January.
Asked whether boycotting the head of Israel’s security agency could weaken the country’s national security, Levin dismissed the notion that it would create a long-term crisis, saying that it “won’t even last a week,” because it would force Bar to “get up and leave,” allowing the government to appoint a successor.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited his lack of trust in Bar as the reason for his dismissal by the cabinet. Netanyahu’s critics have noted that he cooperated closely with Bar until recent months, and that Bar had been a key part of Israel’s negotiations team for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Petitions against the government’s decision to dismiss Bar have claimed that by moving to fire him, the prime minister was in a conflict of interest due to the Shin Bet’s ongoing investigation into allegedly unlawful ties between his close aides and Qatari officials.
The petitions will be heard by a panel comprised of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, incoming Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg and Justice Daphne Barak-Erez.
The three are the most senior justices on the bench. Both Amit and Barak-Erez are liberals, while Sohlberg is a conservative.
Levin’s threat of refusing to work with Bar is not the first such ultimatum that the hawkish justice minister has issued.
In January, following Amit’s appointment to the top spot in the Supreme Court, Levin labeled the process in which he was selected as “illegitimate to its core” and declared that he did not recognize him as chief justice, and would not work with him on essential business of the judiciary.
Turning from Bar to another figure that Levin and other members of the government view as standing in the way of their right-wing agenda, Levin told Channel 14 that he believed dismissing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara would be a “difficult process” but that it would ultimately be a successful one.
Levin is spearheading the process to oust Baharav-Miara from her post due to what he has alleged is her “unfitting conduct” and the “substantive and prolonged differences of opinion” between her and the government, which he claims is preventing effective cooperation.
The cabinet last month voted unanimously in favor of a no-confidence motion against her, setting in motion a formal dismissal process that requires input from a panel of experts yet to be fully appointed.
“I think that the attorney general will eventually be sent home, but the process is a difficult process, it is a long process,” Levin said.
He acknowledged that, as with Bar, the attempt to oust Baharav-Miara was certain to be challenged before the High Court.
“It may be that [the dismissal] is canceled once and canceled again, but if we are determined, we will succeed,” he said.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.