Ehud Barak
Ehud BarakSraya Diamant/TPS

Attorney Michael Litvack, legal adviser for the Israeli human rights NGO Betzalmo, on Tuesday sent a letter to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, requesting that he launch an investigation against Democratic Union chairman Ehud Barak.

The background to the letter is an interview Barak gave to Army Radio on Tuesday afternoon, in which he referred to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as "a miserable servant of Netanyahu, a floor rag. A disgrace to the institution of the State Comptroller."

"There is no doubt that criticism is permissible, but this crosses a line. The saying ‘rag’ is obviously insulting a public servant," Litvack wrote to Mandeblit.

Attorney Litvack mentioned section 288 of the Penal Code, which states that insulting public servants while they are performing their duties is punishable by up to six months in prison. He also mentioned that just a month ago, TV personality Lihi Griner was summoned for questioning after she insulted a police officer using much less blatant words than Barak did in his interview.

"There is no political fight here, as the State Comptroller's actions are clearly not political," added Litvack.

Shai Glick, CEO of Betzalmo, said, “We cannot have double standards. As long as no investigation is initiated against Ehud Barak, it will be proven with certainty that the prosecution discriminates against right-wingers and does not investigate leftists."