From MK must declare immunity bill won’t be used to shield self, legal adviser rules
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
In order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, MK Tally Gotliv must publicly affirm in the Knesset plenum that a parliamentary immunity bill she is sponsoring will not retroactively apply to civil litigation in which she is engaged, Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik states in a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation gave its backing on Sunday to a bill sponsored by the firebrand Likud legislator that would strengthen lawmakers’ parliamentary immunity.
The bill would prohibit the hearing of civil suits against lawmakers or opening of investigations into them unless the Knesset determines, with the support of 90 of the 120 MKs, that the activity the legislator is accused of undertaking was not carried out in the performance of their duties.
The legislation, if passed, would not apply to cases of fraud and breach of trust.
Gotliv has insisted — including in a conversation with Afik — that the law would not be applied retroactively, meaning that it would not affect an ongoing defamation suit filed against Gotliv by activist Shikma Bressler, due to unfounded claims made by Gotliv that sought to connect the anti-government protest leader with the Hamas terror group and the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has already issued a legal opinion in which she warned that the bill would turn parliamentary immunity “into a de facto sanctuary from criminal investigation and prosecution and the filing of civil lawsuits.”
