Israeli cabinet votes unanimously to declare no confidence in Attorney General Baharav-Miara

Following a three-hour-long discussion, ministers of Netanyahu's government voted today to express no confidence in Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. 

At the end of the discussion, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has harshly criticized the attorney general since assuming office at the beginning of 2023, said the vote was “precedent-setting.” 

“The harsh words spoken by all ministers at the meeting and the full support of government ministers for the motion to express no confidence in the advisor are a precedent-setting event that indicates the strength of the rift that the legal advisor to the government has caused in her relations with the government,” Levin stated.

Levin also echoed some of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's verbiage from his dispute with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, speaking of the lost "relationship of trust."

“It is clear from the ministers' words and their vote that there is no way in which effective cooperation can exist between the advisor and the government, and there is no way to restore the relationship of trust that no longer exists. This situation is seriously damaging the functioning of the government and its ability to implement its policy, and its continued existence is harmful to the State of Israel, the citizens of Israel, and even to the status of the institution of the legal advisor to the government itself.” 

Netanyahu was not present during the vote due to the conflict-of-interest agreement he signed under the previous attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, which prohibited him from taking part in decisions that could affect his ongoing criminal trial. 

Baharav-Miara was also absent from the meeting, instead sending a letter to the ministers in which she accused the government of attempting to operate without any checks on its power.

“When the legal advice system presents the government with the boundaries of the law it is doing its job, and it cannot be claimed that these are differences of opinion which are cause to dismiss,” Baharav-Miara wrote in response to accusations that she had repeatedly acted against the government. 

Levin’s spokesperson said, “Minister Levin said that he views the Attorney General’s absence from the meeting with utmost severity,”

He said her decision not to attend reflected the deep “contempt she harbors for the government and its members,” and suggested that she “has no answers to the allegations made against her.”

According to Walla News, the cabinet meeting was the scene of repeated attacks on the attorney general from government ministers. 

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman was reported to have remarked that Baharav-Miara was a cabinet secretary in the previous government, “but here she is the leader of the opposition.” 

While the unanimous vote against the attorney general is not an official step in the removal process, it demonstrates the government’s political will to remove her from office and its willingness to begin the process. 

Right-wing opposition member Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, condemned the cabinet meeting, calling it a distraction. 

“The dismissal of the attorney general was intended to distract attention from the issue of the hostages, the evasion law, the evasion budget in billions, the establishment of a state investigation committee, Qatar-Gate, and a return to the era of trickles - during which we took fire from Yemen, Lebanon, and Gaza for two days,” Liberman posted to 𝕏. “The October 7th government is endangering the security of the State of Israel.”