Katz taps ex-Defense Ministry legal adviser as next military advocate general after scandal

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday announced that he has decided to appoint Itai Ofir as the next military advocate general, after the resignation of Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi last week amid the Sde Teiman leak scandal.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir found out through the media about Katz’s pick, The Times of Israel learned shortly after the announcement, though the top officer praised the appointment later Tuesday evening.

Ofir is an attorney who served as the Defense Ministry legal adviser between 2017 and 2024. Before that, he worked as a lawyer in the private sector in Israel and the United States.

Katz said that Ofir “has the proper qualifications to fulfill this complex and challenging role, whose importance is growing at this time, thanks to his vision, experience, abilities, and the positions he has held in the past.

“There is great importance at this time, in light of the serious facts that are being uncovered, to immediately appoint a military advocate general from outside the Military Advocate General Corps — someone untainted by any suspicion and possessing the proper qualifications, who can act to cleanse, rehabilitate and reorganize the military prosecution system based on principles that first and foremost include the protection of IDF soldiers, who are fighting bravely under difficult and complex conditions for the security of the State of Israel, and certainly not to initiate or take part in blood libels that defame IDF soldiers, harm their dignity and expose them to persecution around the world,” Katz said in a statement.

Ofir in 2022 was among the candidates for the role of Israel’s attorney general, although he was ultimately not selected. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s in business administration from Bar-Ilan University, as well as a master’s in law from Harvard University.

In the military, Ofir was a combat officer in the Givati Brigade, and in the reserves served in the Negev Brigade. Upon entering the role of military advocate general, Ofir will be promoted by five ranks, from captain to major general. (Such promotions are rare but not unprecedented in the military.)

Ofir was one of several recommendations that Zamir presented to Katz. However, Katz did not notify Zamir before making the announcement.

Nevertheless, Zamir said in a statement that he “welcomes the appointment of attorney Itai Ofir.”

According to the IDF, Ofir was Zamir’s “leading candidate for the position.”

Zamir has known Ofir for many years, including when the IDF chief served as the Defense Ministry director general — between 2023 and 2025 — while Ofir was the ministry’s legal advisor.

“The chief of staff sees utmost importance in appointing a military advocate general who comes from the ranks of combat officers in the IDF, with extensive legal experience and a deep understanding of both the challenges of combat and of law,” the military said, adding that Zamir will “continue to work to stabilize the Military Advocate General Corps as soon as possible for the protection of IDF soldiers.”

Normally, the IDF chief of staff selects a candidate for senior officer roles, who is then approved by the defense minister. Katz has sought for months to take control of the IDF’s senior appointments, sometimes leading to public spats with Zamir.

Meanwhile, defense sources said Ofir’s appointment would be accepted as legal despite him not being a military attorney.

According to the Military Justice Law — the legal framework for military jurisdiction in Israel — the military advocate general must be “a military attorney with at least seven years of legal experience,” which removes the possibility of a civilian legal expert, or even a senior IDF officer who is not an attorney, serving in the role.

Defense sources clarified that the appointment was cleared by legal experts, and Ofir would be recruited into the IDF as a military attorney, to then qualify him for the role of military advocate general.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Katz’s choice, saying in a statement, “There is no one more worthy and suitable to heal the military prosecution system” than Ofir, and calling him a soldier “with a backbone of Zionist values, and a first-rate professional.”

“I am convinced that this excellent appointment by the defense minister will lead to the necessary correction of the system,” he added.

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock said the decision to appoint Ofir was “correct and very appropriate.”

“During his tenure as a legal adviser in the defense establishment, he demonstrated an exceptional ability, both professional and personal, to stand by his legal positions even in front of his superiors,” she wrote on X.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair Netanyahu, was exerting pressure on the premier to cancel Ofir’s appointment, Hebrew media outlets reported.

“This is an appointment from within the legal [system] junta,” Yair told the premier after Ofir’s appointment was announced earlier, Channel 12 reported.

According to the network, the premier’s son cited multiple grievances against Ofir, claiming that he was a fellow of the Wexner Foundation philanthropy group, which has been criticized by government officials for promoting “radically left-wing” views; that he worked alongside Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara – whom the government is working to dismiss; and that his wife, who was appointed as a judge by former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, had ruled in favor of leaders of protests against the government’s controversial judicial overhaul plans.

During a pre-scheduled security discussion, the prime minister reportedly expressed anger at Katz that he hadn’t been informed of the decision to appoint Ofir in advance, and that he instead found out from the media.

Nevertheless, the premier supports the appointment and believes it is “an excellent choice,” Channel 12 reported.

Channel 12 also reported that in the wake of the opposition from Yair Netanyahu, Katz sent a letter to Likud party officials justifying the selection and citing the support of far-right ministers Smotrich and Strock.

Ofir was chosen to succeed Tomer-Yerushalmi, who is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, abuse of her office, obstruction of justice, and unlawful disclosure of material over her role in the Sde Teiman leak.

She quit her role on Friday, admitting in her resignation letter that she authorized the leak of surveillance camera footage in mid-2024 that purported to show alleged abuse by IDF reservists of a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

Earlier this year, military prosecutors filed an indictment against five reserve soldiers for the abuse. According to the indictment, the five soldiers severely beat and assaulted the prisoner after he was brought to the detention facility on July 5, 2024, leaving him with massive injuries, including broken ribs and an internal tear in his rectum.

The high-profile investigation into the abuse caused outrage among coalition politicians, government ministers, and right-wing activists. When the reservists were detained on July 29, 2024, dozens broke into the detention facility and another army base in an attempt to thwart the arrests.

Sam Sokol, Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.