Letter seeking AG’s ouster has 13 ministers’ signatures so far, Likud lawmaker says
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says he is close to the 17-minister majority needed to force a cabinet debate on firing Baharav-Miara
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Wednesday that 13 ministers have signed onto a document demanding the government move to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Karhi did not name the ministers when he revealed the headcount during an interview with the ultra-Orthodox Kikar Hashabbat news site. However, he did show the aforementioned document, allowing the signature of Otzma Yehudit minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf to be discerned by the camera.
Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben Gvir and several others have not been shy about publicly demanding Baharav-Miara’s ouster, but most other ministers have avoided making such demands in the media.
Baharav-Miara has frequently clashed with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government over some of the unprecedentedly far-reaching policies it has sought to advance. The disagreements have increased amid ongoing investigations into the premier’s staff.
Karhi told Kikar Hashabbat news he’s actively working to secure additional signatures on a letter demanding that the cabinet convene a special meeting to formally consider firing Baharav-Miara. The far-right Likud communications minister said he was trying to obtain the support of a majority of ministers — 17 — which would obligate a cabinet debate on the matter.
“I believe the attorney general is a political adviser and not fit for the position,” claimed Karhi, adding that every week Baharav-Mirara “makes up something new” to thwart government policies.
If Netanyahu fires Baharav-Mirara, it could violate the premier’s conflict of interest arrangement, drafted in 2020 by then-attorney general Avichai Mandelblit. The High Court had ordered Netanyahu to sign off on the arrangement so he could continue to serve as prime minister, while on criminal trial for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.
Karhi has been among the most vocal ministerial critics of Baharav-Miara, earlier this month accusing her of paving the way for the assassination of the prime minister for what, he alleged, is her failure to tackle violence and incitement from anti-government protesters. The remarks came after three prominent anti-government protesters were arrested in connection to the firing of flares at Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea during a rally.
The attorney general told Netanyahu last week that Ben Gvir’s tenure must be reevaluated in light of his repeated and ongoing interventions into operation police matters and his politicization of police promotions, and not, as Ben Gvir suggested, because he had “backed our soldiers.”
Netanyahu himself described Baharav-Miara’s conduct as “combative” during a cabinet meeting earlier this month, and asked Levin to come up with a “solution” to deal with her, prompting outrage.
His office later attempted to walk back his comments somewhat, saying that the attorney general’s role is to “assist the government in implementing the government’s decisions and promoting bills on its behalf, and not the other way around.”
Critics of the government have characterized Baharav-Miara as one of the last remaining gatekeepers capable of holding the government in check as it pursues a series of anti-democratic policies.
