Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar published a tweet on the X social network this evening (Wednesday) in which he explained why he supports the move by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from her position.
"Removing the Attorney General from their position is an exceptional step. A step that has not been taken since the 1980s. But the Attorney General's actions are also highly exceptional. She has become a full-fledged political player who systematically works against the government with the transparent aim of overthrowing it. Anyone who wants to overthrow the government supports her, and vice versa. This is a place where the Attorney General is not allowed to be," Sa'ar wrote.
He emphasized that the attorney general is harming the proper functioning of the government. "For some time now, she has not maintained proper working relations with the government and the ministers. Everything is a 'legal impediment.' I started working in the Attorney General's Office more than thirty years ago. The institution of the attorney general is dear to my heart. This institution is being destroyed nowadays and is becoming an institution that is trusted by only half the people, based on their political affiliation. In her first year in office, during the previous government's term, she acted according to the motto she presented when she ran for the position - 'an attorney general who permits.' Today, she is as far as can be from there."
He defined Baharav-Miara's methods as "attorney general on steroids" and added that "any honest person can separate their position on the government (negative or positive) from understanding what exactly is happening here. The person who did a complete 180 degree turn is the attorney general. It cannot be said that the current government has not challenged the attorney general, and at certain times her stance and some of her positions were valuable, but there is nowhere in the world where an attorney general acts consistently, systematically, and unrestrainedly against the government he is supposed to advise. All this - while stretching the boundaries of the role itself to impossible places. Her continued forcing [of her own opinions on] the government is a serious governmental breakdown that severely harms the functioning of the executive branch. I have seen this time and time again - and up close - in the last six months."
Sa'ar noted that he was the one who recommended Baharav-Miara's appointment to the position. However, he now believes that she cannot continue her work. "I brought to the government, three years ago, the proposal to elect Attorney Gali Baharav-Miara to the position of Attorney General. In accord with the exact same conception according to which I brought her candidacy (and which is anchored in my words at the government meeting in February 2022) and in accord with her current conduct - there is no doubt that she should leave her position."
"If all the facts that I know today were known to me then - I would not have proposed her candidacy. This is, of course, a case of "hindsight is 20/20". It is better to learn from mistakes than to double down on them. Attorney General Baharav-Miara left the Minister of Justice no choice but to take the step he announced this evening, and it is she who, through her conduct, convinced the Minister that this step was necessary. In addition, a reform of the attorney general's institution (splitting it between two people, as its role today as both legal advisor who represents the government and head of the prosecution are unique to Israel, ed.) must be promoted in aspects of its responsibility for the general prosecution (with an emphasis on criminal proceedings against members of the government and the Knesset). Likewise, a change must be led in the issue of representation (broader possibility for independent representation of the government and its members)," he concluded.
Sa'ar's post follows Justice Minister Yariv Levin's letter on Wednesday to the Cabinet Secretary to advance a motion of no-confidence against Baharav-Miara.
In practice, Levin's letter is the start of the process to impeach the Attorney General in the following manner: first, the cabinet will convene to express no-confidence.
After that, the cabinet will ask the selection committee for its position and after that, a vote will be held which will probably end in Baharav-Miara's impeachment.