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Sunday, November 16, 2025
High Court annuls Levin’s pick in Sde Teiman probe, but upholds his right to select supervisor
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The High Court of Justice annuls Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s decision to appoint State Ombudsman for Judges Asher Kula to oversee the criminal investigation into the Sde Teiman video leak affair, but upholds his right to appoint an official to supervise the investigation outside the prosecution agencies.
The court says Kula cannot be granted authority to oversee the investigation due to explicit limitations in the law for the ombudsman banning the officeholder from serving in any other position or carrying out any other function.
The court says that Levin did, however, have the authority to appoint an official outside the Attorney General’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, due to the “highly irregular and extreme circumstances” of the situation. Liberal government watchdog groups had argued that Levin’s appointment violated democratic principles by which politicians should not be involved in the criminal investigation process.
In the case, former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi has admitted that she authorized the leak of a video last year purporting to show the abuse of a Palestinian security detainee by IDF soldiers at the Sde Teiman military facility. She then lied about the matter while ostensibly leading the investigation to find the leaker.
Levin, who has for months sought to push Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara out of office, then moved to install State Ombudsman Kula to oversee the criminal investigation, arguing that Baharav-Miara had a conflict of interest because she previously oversaw what appears to have been a compromised investigation by the Military Advocate General’s Office.
Baharav-Miara eventually agreed to step away from the case but insisted that it should be run by State Attorney Amit Aisman. Levin rejected this arrangement, arguing that, as her subordinate, Aisman too was compromised.
The court says that any new appointment by Levin must abide by all relevant laws and court decisions.
The Times of Israel Community.