From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 27, 2025
At Knesset hearing, AG dismisses accusation of selective enforcement in leak cases
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara denies that there is any selective enforcement when it comes to dealing with cases of leaks of sensitive information, telling lawmakers that “as opposed to the title of the hearing, there is no selective enforcement.”
Addressing a hearing of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee called to discuss “concerns about selective enforcement in the area of leaks, violation of press freedom and the right to consult with a lawyer by investigative officials and the Shin Bet,” Baharav-Miara says that “there is no selective enforcement.”
Baharav-Miara calls the discussion “an opportunity for us to explain in an orderly manner the guiding principles in the investigation of offenses related to the disclosure of information by a public servant,” which she says is “of great importance due to the importance of freedom of the press in a democratic society.”
“The law enforcement system operates in a consistent, professional, and matter-of-fact manner, according to fixed standards that are applied in each case according to its circumstances,” she says.
Following February’s announcement that the Shin Bet had begun probing reports of alleged ties between advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar, Netanyahu and his supporters have accused the security service of selective enforcement by not probing the premier’s political rivals.
The focus of investigations is usually “on those who released the information in an unauthorized manner, and not on the journalist” who published it, Baharav-Miara tells lawmakers.
The right has also criticized the April arrest and interrogation of Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein in relation to the affair.
Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein, one of the main suspects in the Qatargate probe, was also charged in November in a separate case involving the theft and leaking of material from a classified IDF document to the German daily Bild to sway public opinion toward Netanyahu.
It is not only allies of the prime minister who have been probed regarding leaks, however.
Earlier this month, police questioned opposition Labor party MK Gilad Kariv regarding allegations that he leaked classified information from a closed-door hearing of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The Times of Israel Community.