Attorney general left out of cabinet meeting in ‘clear message’ from Netanyahu

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has not been invited to sit in on the new government’s first cabinet meeting, Ynet reports, an extraordinary measure underlining tensions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which says it will seek major reforms opposed by the government’s top jurist.

“She’s not wanted here,” a source close to Netanyahu tells the outlet.

Several Likud lawmakers have called for Baharav-Miara to be fired and have sought to take power to rule on government matters out of the hands of her office. Netanyahu has also waged a campaign against the attorney general over his corruption indictments, which came under Baharav-Miara’s predecessor.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, May 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The source says the attorney general is normally a mainstay of cabinet meetings, even those that convene for ceremonial purposes.

“This is a clear, sharp message from Netanyahu to the attorney general,” the source says.