Amid growing criticism by the public and within the State Attorney’s Office over Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s decision to personally oversee the Sde Teiman investigation despite her severe conflict of interest, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced Tuesday morning that he has informed Acting Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz of his decision to appoint Israel’s retired judge Asher Kula as a special prosecutor to preside over the case.

Kula serves as Israel’s Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges. Levin wrote in his letter that he “believes that the Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges, both as an institution and personally, is the most suitable choice in this case. His appointment will earn broad public confidence, which is essential under the current circumstances.”

Levin previously sent a letter to Baharav-Miara, prohibiting her and her staff from involvement in the case, but as per her usual tactics, the attorney-general responded that she has no intention of recusing herself from the case despite her severe conflict of interest. The battle is poised to reach the Supreme Court as various parties are expected to petition against Levin’s decision to appoint Kula, and a Likud minister has already filed a petition against Baharav-Miara’s involvement in the case. 

Explaining his choice of Kula, Levin stated, “I believe that the civil servant assigned to this role must meet the following criteria as closely as possible: Be a civil employee with experience in criminal law; not be subordinate to any minister or to anyone in the Attorney General’s Office or its subordinate bodies; and enjoy broad public trust—which is essential in such a sensitive and complex matter.”

Levin emphasized in his letter that he had obtained Judge Kula’s consent and that the appointment was made under Section 23 of the Civil Service (Appointments) Law, which states, “If a position becomes vacant or the officeholder is unable to exercise their authority or fulfill their duties, the minister responsible for that office may, in consultation with the Civil Service Commissioner, assign another civil servant to perform the role for a period not exceeding three months.”

On Sunday night, following the uproar surrounding the disappearance of the ousted Chief Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and her “lost” phone, Likud MK Avichai Boaron and the right-wing Lavi NGO filed a petition to the Supreme Court demanding that the Attorney-General be recused from presiding over the case.

The petition included a protocol from a previous court ruling indicating that the Military Advocate General’s office maintained ongoing direct contact with Baharav-Miara regarding the investigation into the leak.

“The Attorney-General was fully involved in the probe and in the decision to close it [on the claim that there was no chance of finding the source of the leak],” Buaron wrote in a statement announcing the submission of the petition.

“She has been deeply involved in this case for months—in the details of the investigation, the instructions to the deputy military advocate general, and in the decision itself to end the probe, and now she is also seeking to represent the state in a petition that concerns her own actions.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)