After a lengthy delay, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Sunday night submitted her response to the Supreme Court in a petition by the Israeli Democracy Guard that seeks to overturn Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s decision to appoint retired judge Asher Kola as legal adviser in the investigation of former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
In her submission, Baharav-Miara sharply criticized Levin’s move, calling it an unprecedented attempt to interfere in an ongoing criminal process. “The justice minister’s decisions seek, in an unprecedented manner, to intervene in investigations by appointing a specific external prosecutor to handle a particular criminal case,” she wrote. “In effect, the justice minister is attempting to dictate the identity of the prosecutor in this specific investigation while it is still underway. Such a step has never before been taken in Israel’s legal system.”
Baharav-Miara asked the Supreme Court to make its temporary injunction permanent, thereby nullifying Levin’s appointment of Kola, saying the decision unlawfully assigns the attorney general’s authority to another official. She noted that when the attorney general faces a possible conflict of interest, the accepted practice is for the case to remain with professional prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office, not with an external appointee chosen by the justice minister.
She also argued that Levin failed to meet the legal requirement to consult with the Civil Service Commissioner before naming Kola. Levin contacted Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz, who replied that Baharav-Miara had barred him from advising the minister but said Kola was “fit” for the position. However, the Civil Service Commission’s legal adviser later wrote to Baharav-Miara that Hershkowitz’s letter did not meet the requirement for consultation under the law.
Baharav-Miara had been ordered to file her response by 8 p.m. Saturday but asked for several extensions throughout Sunday. Justice Yael Willner granted multiple deadline changes before Baharav-Miara ultimately submitted her 66-page response after 8 p.m., hours past the final cutoff.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday morning on petitions concerning management of the investigation. The panel will include Justices Willner, Alex Stein, and Gila Canfy-Steinitz. Legal reporters have requested permission to broadcast the hearing live. The court will hear two opposing petitions. One, filed by Likud lawmaker Avichay Buaron and the Lavi organization, seeks to remove Baharav-Miara from involvement in the investigation, arguing that she oversaw the internal probe into the leak of a video from the Sde Teiman detention facility. The footage allegedly showed soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee and was later found to have been covered up by the military prosecution. The second petition, by the Israeli Democracy Guard, calls for the cancellation of Levin’s appointment of Kola.
During police questioning last week, Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted she had not informed then–IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, then–Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, or Baharav-Miara about the leak. She acknowledged concealing her part in releasing the footage, which allegedly showed the abuse of a security detainee at Sde Teiman.
Last Thursday, Baharav-Miara transferred supervision of the case to State Attorney Amit Eisman following a legal opinion by Justice Ministry legal adviser Yael Kotik, who determined that Baharav-Miara was barred from overseeing the investigation. Kotik said this did not imply that Baharav-Miara or her deputies had prior knowledge of Tomer-Yerushalmi’s alleged false reports. Almost simultaneously, Levin issued Kola’s appointment letter for the same role.
Kola said Sunday he had frozen his involvement in the case “out of caution and respect for the Supreme Court’s decision,” after the court issued a conditional order suspending his appointment. “I have no personal interest in the matter,” he said. “Whatever the court decides will be acceptable to me.”