Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon protests plan by Netanyahu government to make it easier to fire an AG – as part of a bid to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from office.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
The Israeli government is renewing its efforts to remove the Attorney General from office, months after the Cabinet voted unanimously to back her termination.
The Netanyahu government voted on Sunday in favor of a proposal drafted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) – the architect of the government’s judicial reform plan – which would make it easier for the government to fire the attorney general.
For months, the government has clashed with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, an appointee of the Bennett-Lapid government, whose six-year term is set to expire only in February 2028.
While the Cabinet voted on March 23 to back a motion of no confidence against Baharav-Miara and endorse her removal, the bid to end her term stalled soon after.
The effort was hampered in large part by the requirement, under the existing statutes, for the government to consult with the appointment committee, which nominated Baharav-Miara.
For the past quarter-century, state attorneys general have been nominated by a special committee – made up of a former Supreme Court judge, an MK, a representative of the Bar Association, a jurist in academia, and either a former AG or former Justice Minister.
While the sitting Justice Minister can appoint the nominee of choice from the list drafted by the committee, the removal of the Attorney General already in office must be done in conjunction with the appointment committee.
Given the makeup of the committee, with three out of its five members selected by bodies outside of the government, the Coalition’s bid to remove Baharav-Miara was deemed unlikely to win the committee’s backing.
Last week, Levin drafted a plan to circumvent the committee, changing the statute in question, allowing for an alternative ministerial committee to be established by the Justice Minister to rule on the removal of a sitting AG.
The alternative committee is expected to be chaired by Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party), National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), Minister of Technology and Innovation Gila Gamliel (Likud), and Religious Affairs Minister Michael Malchieli (Shas).
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon condemned the plan, claiming it was motivated by purely political considerations and did not properly address the professional considerations regarding the removal of an Attorney General.
“It suffers from both substantive and procedural defects, and includes a series of legal flaws that go to the root of the process,” Limon wrote.
“It is difficult to understand the logic behind canceling the obligation to consult with a professional-public committee that was intended to ensure the independence of the Attorney General’s Office.”
Limon warned that the move was just one in a series of steps meant to “weaken the gatekeepers” of Israeli democracy and to “politicize the civil service.”
“Today there isn’t even an attempt to hide the intention to appoint political allies.”
“This constitutes a severe blow to the independence of the Attorney General’s Office, its status, and its ability to act on behalf of the rule of law freely and professionally, without fear of arbitrary dismissal.”
Ben-Gvir, one of the ministers expected to be tapped to serve on the new committee stressed that once established, the committee will provide Baharav-Miara with an opportunity to raise any relevant issues.
“Mrs. Gali Baharav-Miara is welcome to raise all her comments regarding the ongoing process at a pre-dismissal hearing. Her remarks on the procedure will be heard by the ministerial committee discussing her case with an open heart and willing spirit,” said Ben-Gvir.
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