AG says tenure of PMO’s acting director should not be extended due to corruption investigation

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells the High Court of Justice that the acting director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Drorit Steinmetz, should not continue in the position since she is a suspect in a corruption investigation involving Social Equality Minister May Golan.

The attorney general makes the determination in a response to the High Court following petitions against Steinmetz serving in the role at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Steinmetz has been serving in the position since February 2025, but the Movement for Integrity in Government has petitioned the High Court to oust her from her job owing to her being investigated on suspicion of theft by a public servant, false registration in corporate documents, fraudulent fraudulent receipt of a benefit under aggravated circumstances, and fraud and breach of trust.

The suspicions against Steinmetz stem from her alleged role in a scandal involving Golan, specifically securing a job for Golan’s media adviser Harel Hershkowitz, who is also the grandson of Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz.

Netanyahu wrote to Baharav-Miara to request her approval to extend Steinmetz’s tenure as acting director, but the attorney general says there is “considerable difficulty” in doing so because of the criminal investigation into her, and says the prime minister should make a permanent appointment to the position instead.