The Supreme Court issued a ruling on Monday morning regarding the petition by the Choosing Life organization, which was filed in August against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the Prosecutor’s Office, the IDF, and the Israeli government regarding the Sdei Teiman case, in which they demanded that the court order an “independent criminal investigation” regarding the leak of the doctored video.

Although Supreme Court justices Noam Sohlberg, Yael Wilner, and Khaled Kabub rejected the petition, they imposed court costs of 25,000 shekels against the respondents, i.e., the Attorney General, the IDF, and the government, while explaining that the petition had become moot since an investigation into the leak was opened as part of the Military Advocate General affair, thus fulfilling the petitioners’ requests.

The ruling slammed the conduct of Attorney General, stating that it was an “exceptional and unprecedented” affair, questioning Baharav-Miara’s credibility. They noted the false affidavits of the Attorney General in which she repeatedly clarified that the investigation would remain in the hands of the Military Advocate General and the Military Police, headed by the source of the leak herself, Tomer Yerushalmi, and even stated that “not even a preliminary indication was found pointing to the source of the leak.”

The justices leveled unprecedented criticism at Baharav-Miara, stating, “If we cannot rely on the affidavits submitted to us on behalf of the state to the Supreme Court—where are we headed?”

Although the justices dismissed the petition, they left a clear opening for additional petitions on the matter: “The discussion of the petition is exhausted; its main purpose has been achieved. Regarding efforts aimed at preventing the recurrence of similar cases, the petitioners’ claims are reserved for them in the future, should there be a need, and in the appropriate circumstances,” they wrote.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)