Justice Minister Yariv Levin appointed on Tuesday retired Nazareth District Court Judge Josefh Ben-Hamo to oversee an investigation into the leak of classified footage from the Sde Teiman military base, a case involving former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
In a document released Tuesday evening and submitted for approval to Acting Civil Service Commissioner Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, Levin stated that he concluded the role required either a sitting or retired district court judge.
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Retired Judge Josefh Ben-Hamo, Justice Minister Yariv Levin
(Photo: Judicial Authority, Amit Shabi)
Levin explained the selection process, noting that he had considered appointing a current civil servant but was unable to identify a suitable candidate. “I examined the possibility of appointing a serving civil servant, but was unable to do so due to significant difficulties in locating someone of seniority, legal expertise and relevant experience, who is not professionally or administratively subordinate to the Attorney General’s Office or the State Attorney’s Office, does not maintain close working ties with them and is willing to assume the role,” Levin wrote.
He added that he had approached the Judicial Authority to explore the possibility of appointing a sitting district court judge, but “did not receive consent.”
Levin’s appointment was announced following a High Court of Justice ruling on Sunday permitting him to name a legal professional according to strict criteria—one who is a state employee, politically unaffiliated and experienced in criminal law—to oversee the investigation. The appointed official’s authority will be strictly limited to accompanying the investigation. Any prosecutorial decisions will remain under the authority of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Justice Alex Stein further specified that the candidate should be “an expert in criminal law, free of personal interests and political influence—in other words, someone whose profile closely resembles that of a senior state prosecutor.”
The High Court's decision to allow the appointment, which described the case as “exceptional and rare,” came after it determined that the attorney general and senior officials in the State Attorney’s Office involved in the investigation could face a conflict of interest. At the same time, the court rejected the candidacy of retired judge Asher Kula, who serves as state ombudsman for judges.
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Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
Due to the court’s strict criteria for the role, Levin encountered difficulties in finding a qualified legal figure willing to accept the appointment. Some declined over concerns about heightened public scrutiny and potential criticism, while others cited possible conflicts of interest. Among those approached were District Court Judges Elad Persky and Ilan Sela.
Justifying his selection of Ben-Hamo, Levin wrote: “I decided to assign the task to a retired district court judge with knowledge and experience relevant to the role, who will be temporarily employed as a senior state official for the purpose of this specific mission.”
“I found it appropriate to assign the position to retired judge Josefh Ben-Hamo,” Levin wrote, outlining Ben-Hamo’s career: “He served in the Israel Police as an officer, investigator and prosecutor from 1974 to 1982. He worked as an independent attorney from 1982 to 1998. Between 1998 and 2004, he served as a judge in the family division of the Magistrate’s Court and was appointed deputy president of the Magistrate’s Courts in the Northern District in 2004.
“He later served in an acting capacity and as registrar at the Nazareth District Court between 2011 and 2014, and was appointed a full judge on that court in 2014, serving until 2020. Throughout his judicial career, he handled a substantial number of criminal cases. He is therefore a distinguished legal professional with extensive experience in the relevant areas. His qualifications and stature are undoubtedly on par with those of a senior prosecutor.”
Tomer-Yerushalmi seen leaving jail after her release to house arrest
(Video: Mickey Schmidt)
However, Likud MK Tally Gotliv slammed Levin’s appointment, who is not a serving civil servant, claiming Ben-Hamo has not worked in criminal law for many years and citing local media reports suggesting he previously considered running for mayor of Tiberias under the Likud banner.
“Mr. Minister of Justice. Stop! Stop! What are you doing? You’re appointing retired judge Josefh Ben-Hamo, who hasn’t dealt with criminal law in years! He was a family court judge," she wrote on X. "He’s not a civil servant, he has no experience in criminal investigations and he has been politically involved. Why? Both Moshe Saada and I proposed excellent candidates. Every day that passes is another day Miara isn’t under investigation!”
A June 2023 poll ahead of the municipal elections (later postponed to 2024 due to the outbreak of the war in Gaza) listed Ben-Hamo as a candidate, though he received only 2% support.
Ben-Hamo also has a controversial judicial record. In 2015, while serving on the Nazareth District Court, he ranked near the bottom in a judicial performance review, receiving a score of 3.31—fourth from last—just ahead of retired judge Asher Kula, Levin’s original nominee who was rejected by the court. A decade earlier, as a magistrate, he was ranked among the top “slowest judges,” with 23 cases awaiting rulings.
In 2003, while presiding over a family court, Ben-Hamo ruled that a same-sex partner could not inherit from his deceased partner, even if the couple had accumulated shared property. He restricted the legal definition of “common-law spouses” to heterosexual couples. “It is not the judge’s role to see himself as a standard-bearer of a new social consensus,” he wrote, “but rather to seek solutions consistent with the existing one.”
The controversy surrounding Tomer-Yerushalmi erupted late last month after a staffer revealed her role in leaking footage to the media, allegedly showing IDF soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility.
She has been hospitalized at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv since November 9 following a suspected suicide attempt. House arrest orders against her expired on Friday and were not extended by police. “The house arrest order is currently irrelevant as long as she remains hospitalized. After her release, the necessity of further restrictions will be reassessed,” a police source said. Nevertheless, police requested that detention conditions be extended to cover the medical facility, including assigning supervisors.
Police conducted another search of Tomer-Yerushalmi’s office on Monday.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who has admitted authorizing the leak of a video from the Sde Teiman base, is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, abuse of power, obstruction of justice and unlawful disclosure of information by a public official. The investigation centers on allegations she provided false information regarding the internal inquiry into the leak.