Edelstein questions need for coalition bill allowing soldiers to leak info to PM

During a contentious hearing on the so-called Feldstein Law in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chairman Yuli Edelstein questions the need for legislation, that would prevent the prosecution of soldiers or other members of the defense establishment who give classified intelligence to the prime minister or defense minister without authorization.

An army NCO is currently facing trial for allegedly leaking classified military intelligence to an aide of the prime minister, who subsequently allegedly leaked it to the foreign press.

“I would be interested to hear how we, through this proposal, will not cause a situation where highly classified material will flow to elements that are not authorized to receive the material and that do not have the appropriate security classification,” the Likud lawmaker says — pushing back against his own party’s bill.

Edelstein’s skepticism is shared by Brig Gen (Res.) Moshe Schneid, a former top IDF intelligence officer, who declares that the prime minister and defense minister are “fully exposed to all materials in the possession of the Intelligence Directorate.”

“Transferring classified information in an unorderly manner may result in the disclosure of sources,” he tells the committee, arguing that the bill would “allow soldiers to bypass the IDF chain of command and directly approach the political echelon,” which may “seriously harm the security of the state.”

National Unity MK and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot likewise pans the bill, which he dismisses as “ridiculous, frivolous and unserious.”

Bill co-sponsor Amit Halevi (Likud) argues that his legislation is necessary because unelected officials “are shutting the prime minister out,” though he does not offer evidence for this. “This law is intended to eliminate such phenomena.”

Halevi’s co-sponsor, Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky, states explicitly that the bill is intended to ensure that the NCO in question “is released from prison because the offense he committed will cease to be an offense.”

Addressing the committee, Avital, the unnamed NCO’s wife, argues that her husband’s actions were motivated “purely for the benefit of the State of Israel” and that he is “a law-abiding man.” His arrest and detention are “not a matter of politics but of human rights,” she says, adding that she just wants him home as the legal proceedings against him progress.