Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara drew anger from members of the coalition when, in the middle of a war, she submitted a legal opinion to the High Court of Justice on Wednesday demanding that it order the prime minister to dismiss National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir if there isn’t “meaningful change.”
The AG has accused Ben-Gvir—who oversees the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service—of improper interference in police operations, raising concerns over political involvement and influence in investigations.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) expressed outrage at the AG’s actions, describing it as “inconceivable” that she would pursue the case in the midst of a war.
The AG’s request against a minister “against whom not even a criminal investigation has been opened” undermines democracy and makes a mockery of the principle of separation of powers, the PMO said.
Ending on a defiant note, the PMO said Ben-Gvir will continue to serve as National Security Minister.
Ben-Gvir responded on X on Wednesday: “At a time when the State of Israel is in one of the most fateful and important wars in its history, a dismissed criminal official is trying to promote a coup d’état in a democratic country and to dismiss an elected official.”
Ben-Gvir referred to the fact that the attorney general, who is deeply unpopular with the government, was unanimously voted out on Aug. 4. The High Court canceled that decision on Dec. 14.
“Gali Baharav-Miara thinks we are in Iran and that soon she and her group of criminal officials will establish revolutionary guards here. Democracy will win,” Ben-Gvir said.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin responded, “The ousted attorney general has not stopped for a moment to harm the work of the government, even in times of war.”
Calling the High Court hearing “illegal,” he said no AG has the legal authority to act as Knesset or prime minister and determine who will serve as a minister. “Ben-Gvir, like all government ministers, was elected to his position in a proper democratic process, and we all support him and are committed to his continued tenure in the government,” he said.
Knesset Member Yulia Malinovsky of the opposition Israel Beitenu Party also expressed her disapproval of Baharav-Miara’s actions.
“Regardless of the substance, the timing of the attorney general’s decision to instruct the Supreme Court to issue an order to remove Ben-Gvir is detached and clearly unreasonable,” she posted to X.
“The State of Israel is in a fateful war. The citizens of Israel are in bomb shelters. Our pilots are in the skies of Tehran. And no one is allowed to deal with controversial issues that could divide the people,” she said.
Judicial officials defended the timing, pointing to deadlines in the Ben-Gvir case, including dates set for hearings, Ynet reported.
The High Court already appeared to be siding with the AG when on Feb. 4, it ordered Netanyahu to explain his justification for not firing Ben-Gvir over his alleged interference in police work.
It made that request after Baharav-Miara asked the High Court on Jan. 1 to demand Netanyahu justify his failure to do so.
Other petitioners to the Court against Ben-Gvir include radical left-wing organizations, among them Ima Era and Tag Meir, an umbrella group.
On Jan. 13, Ben-Gvir submitted a written response to the Court underscoring that there had been neither a conviction, indictment, criminal investigation, public report nor review that could justify the petitions against him.
“Had any of the minister’s actions warranted a criminal investigation, the attorney general would have opened one immediately,” according to his statement.
Coalition members rallied around Ben-Gvir, calling the attempt by the attorney general “a coup against democracy” and urging Netanyahu not to comply with the Court.
“We will stand as a wall against the baseless dismissal of a government minister,” numerous coalition members said in a Jan. 13 letter.
“No legal body, including the High Court, has the authority in law to force the dismissal of a government minister, especially when no indictment has even been filed against him,” they wrote.
“We will not lend a hand to this. Only the people will choose the government, and only the people will decide at the ballot box who their elected representatives are,” they wrote.
Referring to earlier High Court petitions filed against Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 10, 2024, that he didn’t know “a faster way to bring about a constitutional crisis than trying to fire a minister without an indictment.”
Both sides of the political aisle have identified the power struggle between the judicial branch and the legislative as a threat to democracy, though they disagree on who is at fault.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (ret.) Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the newly formed opposition party, Yashar, said the coalition’s threat to disobey the Court was the “real danger to Israeli democracy.”
“A government that places itself above the law and nullifies the principles of the democratic system loses the moral authority to lead,” he said.
The coalition sees the justice system as having gone off the rails. On Jan. 12, speaking at a meeting of his Otzma Yehudit Party, Ben-Gvir expressed the view of most government members, saying, “We find ourselves in a critical period and facing an existential threat to the existence of the State of Israel as a democracy.”
“Who is sovereign? Do the people elect their representatives? Or are those elected at the ballot box, in fact, subjects of a group of officials, who decide for them what to legislate, whom to appoint?” asked Ben-Gvir, calling the actions of unelected officials a “coup.”
