Military Advocate General’s Corps temporarily under command of Personnel Directorate

The Military Advocate General’s Corps has been temporarily placed under the command of the Personnel Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, the army says.

The decision was made by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir as most of the top command of the MAG Corps is under investigation for the Sde Teiman abuse leak.

Former military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned a week ago over the scandal. Her deputy, Brig. Gen. Gal Asael, was questioned under caution yesterday before being released to house arrest and being suspended from the MAG Corps. And other senior officers in the unit have also been suspended and investigated by police.

Bar Kalifa will head the MAG Corps until Itai Ofir, an attorney who recently served as legal advisor to the Defense Ministry, enters the role of military advocate general. The IDF says an acting military advocate general will be appointed “as soon as possible.”

Bar Kalifa will only be commanding the MAG Corps in a technical sense, and he is not authorized to make any legal decisions.

The military says that Zamir “sees utmost importance in stabilizing the Military Advocate General’s Corps and ensuring its continuous and professional functioning.”