Levin claims AG cannot be involved in legal proceedings relating to Sde Teiman video leak, says she tried to obstruct probe into leak

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has instructed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that she cannot be involved in the legal proceedings regarding the Sde Teiman video leak affair, and that he will appoint a public official in consultation with the interim civil service commissioner to investigate the matter.

In a sharply worded letter to Baharav-Miara, Levin accuses her and her staff of having sought to obstruct investigative proceedings seeking to find the source of the leak, which Military Advocate Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, admitted on Thursday, had been her.

Levin argues that Baharav-Miara is therefore legally barred from participating in the proceedings against the former military advocate general.

He also cites submissions made to the High Court of Justice by the attorney general regarding the leak, in which she stated that exhaustive investigations into the incident found no signs of who the source might be.

“Since the source of the leak of the video was revealed by a basic investigation, it is clear that this notice to the High Court was not truthful,” writes Levin in his letter to Baharav-Miara, in reference to a police investigation announced last week, which prompted Tomer-Yerushalmi to first take a leave of absence and then resign.

Levin also essentially accuses Baharav-Miara of having been in lockstep with Tomer-Yerushalmi, as she wrote in a December 2024 submission to the High Court on the issue that the background surrounding the leak of the video was the “severe riots” against IDF personnel investigating abuse allegations against IDF soldiers at the Sde Teiman military detention facility.

Levin notes that Tomer-Yerushalmi stated that she had leaked the video “to refute the false propaganda against IDF law enforcement officials,” and asks Baharav-Miara “how did you know to write in your response to the High Court the background to the leak of the video 10 months before the military advocate general announced what he motivation had been.”

“Your personal involvement in the investigation process and that of your subordinates must be examined. Did you meet with the outgoing military advocate general? Did you speak with her on the subject, did you order her and her immediate environment to be investigated or questioned, or did you refrain from doing so, and in general, what was your knowledge of the affair? It goes without saying that neither you nor your subordinates will be able to engage in examining these and other questions,” adds Levin.

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv slams the justice minister, accusing him of “subverting the rule of law” and saying he has no authority to prevent her from being involved in the legal proceedings against Tomer-Yerushalmi.