Israel Votes to Fire Attorney General

Israel’s cabinet voted to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Monday. Though this decision may be reversed, multiple ministers said they would no longer invite her to government meetings or heed her legal directives.

Why it matters: Baharav-Miara is a major opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If her power lessens, his government could have more ability to advance its policies.

• This is the first time the Israeli government has voted to fire an attorney general.

The attorney general’s role: Baharav-Miara’s job includes:

• Interpreting the law—her decisions are legally binding.
• Supervising Israel’s public prosecutions and governmental legal advisers.
• Representing the government in certain legal proceedings.

Baharav-Miara received her position under the previous government and is not aligned with the current coalition. The government proposal concerning her firing said she “severely harms the functioning of the government.” She is accused of:

• Launching politically motivated “witch hunts.”
• Taking petitioners’ sides, denying the government its day in court.
• Blocking policy initiatives in an attempt to collapse the government.

The government’s remarks mentioned “accumulated incidents” including “legal objections to government policy, refusal to represent the government in court (including in cases where the court sided with the government), failure to comply with government decisions not stayed by court order, delays in tasks, and [issuing] public criticism [against the government].”

• Baharav-Miara is also prosecuting Netanyahu for corruption.
• Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the vote was not connected to the case against Netanyahu.

What’s next? The Supreme Court blocked the move, so the decision will not come into effect until the court rules on the appeals against it. Until then, the government is not allowed to name a replacement.

However, since many in the government have decided to boycott Baharav-Miara, she could be pushed to resign.

Israel’s ‘deep state’: Netanyahu has faced opposition from “deep state” officials similar to what United States President Donald Trump has. In 2023, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

Over the past few decades, the lawyers appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel have massively expanded the court’s power over the elected representatives of the Israeli people. They have taken to themselves the authority to review and to nullify any Israeli law, no matter how many representatives or voters disagree. …

The types of lawyers, judges and justices who have produced this power-hungry body over the past few decades are also the types of people making judgments that are more and more leftist and more and more radical.

Baharav-Miara has played a key role in thwarting Israel’s elected government. Her ouster could pave the way for a temporary revival in Israel. To learn why, read Mr. Flurry’s article “The Jewish Nation Has No Helper.”