Attorney General Strikes Again, Blocks Coalition Bill at Last Minute

By Yisrael Price

YERUSHALAYIM — Israel’s attorney general came into conflict with the national security minister, the latest in a series of highly charged cases in which she has been at odds with the policy of the government.

After Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara raised technical objections to proposed changes in the relationship between the minister and the police, a Knesset committee session on the matter was called off on Tuesday.

The discussion was supposed to deal with elements of a larger bill that was already passed that gave the minister policymaking power over the police.

However, Baharav-Miara intervened, maintaining that the remaining parts of that bill must be treated as a new proposal and therefore have to be referred first to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation before it can proceed.

National Security Minister Ben Gvir fumed over the peremptory move:

“The attorney general knew about the discussion for several days and we even held a meeting about it last night, but she waited until the last second, half an hour before the discussion, to delay it by another week. This is outrageous behavior by someone who keeps thinking that she’s running the government, not advising it.”

Baharav-Miara has been at odds with the new government on major issues, including recommending to the High Court that Rabbi Deri be disqualified from serving as a minister, and speaking out against the proposed judicial reforms.