National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on the Coalition Wednesday to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, saying her "automatic" rejection of "any decision or bill backed by the government or those related to it" made her into "the de facto opposition leader."
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"I am aware of the legal difficulty in firing her, but the damage the attorney general is causing every day she remains in her role is immeasurably greater," Ben-Gvir wrote in a letter to Coalition faction leaders.
He noted that Baharav-Miara was appointed by the previous government despite the objections of former Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, who said she was unfit for the position and accused her of approving major proposals of the previous government – such as the maritime deal with Lebanon and the appointment of Herzi Halevi as IDF chief of staff – even though it was a caretaker government.
"With the establishment of the new government, and with the hope was that the attorney general would understand that the government has changed and so would stop receiving instructions from the previous government, we decided to not immediately call for her dismissal, and even to give her a chance to have a normal working relationship," Ben-Gvir wrote. "However, day by day it is becoming clear that her confrontational behavior is increasing with each passing moment, to the point where Mrs. Baharav-Miara now functions as the real leader of the opposition."
Earlier in the week, Ben-Gvir asked the Supreme Court to permit him to seek independent counsel and not be tied to the representation of the attorney general, in whom he said he had lost confidence.
Ben-Gvir faces a number of petitions in the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, including against a recently passed amendment in the Knesset subordinating the police to his ministry, his appointment as minister, his conduct toward anti-judicial reform protesters, and his removal from office of Tel Aviv District Police Commander Amichai Eshad.
The clash between Ben-Gvir and Baharav-Miara came to the public's attention when Baharav-Miara on Friday reversed Ben-Gvir's decision from the previous day to remove Eshed from his post.
Ben-Gvir had argued that Eshed was not doing enough to crack down on judicial reform protesters who were breaking the law, including blocking the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. Eshed was to be transferred to a position as head of police training.
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However, the attorney general rejected Ben-Gvir's decision, saying there were "serious concerns regarding the legality and correctness of the procedure, including the considerations underlying the decision, the timing of the announcement and the background to it."
Ben-Gvir, a lawyer, responded in a petition to the Supreme Court requesting that he be allowed to determine his own legal representation.
"The attorney general did not speak to me prior to her announcement and did not seek to understand how the decision was made in the case of Commander Amichai Eshad and when. For anyone who has not understood until now, this is a left-wing, biased, nonobjective attorney general who acts on behalf of the previous government with a distinct political agenda. And the attorney general's announcement shows how important the legal reform is," he said.
He further stated in his appeal that Baharav-Miara's "conduct is unconstitutional, unreasonable, disproportionate and unfair. It is not appropriate for the attorney general to make such an unusual and severe decision without talking to the minister. Under these circumstances, the minister asks the honorable court: Allow the minister to represent himself or alternatively to hire an attorney."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
