A ministerial committee that was formed to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara formally decided on Sunday to advise the government to dismiss her, marking another step toward a possible end to the A-G’s tenure.
The panel will likely place its decision on the next government meeting’s agenda on July 27. However, Deputy Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg ruled on Friday that if the government decides to fire Baharav-Miara, the decision will not take effect immediately, allowing the court to consider legal challenges to her removal.
Sunday’s decision was merely to ratify a text that the committee published on Thursday evening, after Baharav-Miara refused to attend a hearing scheduled for Thursday morning. The A-G also refused to participate in a similar hearing on Monday.
In the text, the panel, chaired by Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, wrote that its recommendation was based on “fundamental and ongoing disagreements and a lack of effective cooperation” with the A-G.
It added that this was related to “delays and deficiencies in executing tasks and priorities” by her and “serial rulings” that government policies were “not legally viable” that she made.
The ministers also cited “adversarial and disrespectful conduct” as another reason for their recommendation for Baharav-Miara’s dismissal. She “systematically voiced public criticism against the government and its ministers,” they said.
Dramatic implications and consequences
Led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the government decided on June 8 to change the method of firing the attorney-general, such that instead of requiring the opinion of a public-professional committee, it merely required the opinion of a panel composed of ministers. Levin initiated the change after he failed to staff the previous committee.
The previous council was made up of a retired Supreme Court justice as its chairperson, appointed by the Supreme Court chief justice and by the approval of the justice minister; a former justice minister or attorney-general, chosen by the government; an MK, selected by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; a lawyer, determined by the Israel Bar Association; and a legal academic, chosen by the deans of the law faculties.
In a court filing on Sunday, the A-G attempted to convince Sohlberg not to allow the procedure to progress any further, and block it from reaching a government vote.
Sohlberg responded to Baharav-Miara on Sunday evening, clarifying that he would not make any moves to stop the legislation from proceeding. “My decision is clear,” he wrote.
In her filing, Baharav-Miara argued that the government’s decision to change the hiring and dismissal process was fundamentally flawed, it had adverse effects on the future of the role, and it should not be advanced until it receives a judicial review.
The decision “opened the door to firing the attorney-general – the general prosecutor – based on foreign interests and calculations, including regarding ongoing criminal investigations,” she wrote.
Baharav-Miara added that such a decision would have dramatic implications and consequences beyond the question of her current position.
“It will permanently change the firing process... As such, it would be right to bring it to judicial review already now, without waiting for it to advance further first,” she wrote. “The government’s actions over the past five weeks are leading to irreparable damage to the institution that is the legal advisory.”
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel NGO said, “The committee’s recommendation was the foregone conclusion of an unlawful procedure conducted without a real hearing by a political committee.”
“A committee consisting of coalition ministers loyal to a prime minister accused of corruption and a government with an unprecedented number of ministers who are under criminal investigation, and that is called a ‘ministerial committee’ but in fact serves as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long arm, cannot serve as a legal forum to remove the country’s most senior gatekeeper,” it said.