No. 35: Gali Baharav-Miara: Attorney-general of Israel

Gali Baharav-Miara is a complex and fascinating figure who, despite not having done anything particularly extraordinary since her appointment, has become a demon for half the nation and a Joan of Arc for the other half. Her role is even more intriguing when one delves deeper into her position: to serve as the government’s legal adviser as well as its chief prosecutor. To be the one who provides ministers with guidelines on how to uphold the law, but in reality, her advice is binding. Binding advice becomes necessity; necessity turns into compulsion, and compulsion has turned into a violent, loud, and dangerous political struggle, especially for Israeli democracy.

Fans and admirers of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his methods in Israel see Baharav-Miara as a speed bump obstructing their path. Or, in the language of politicians: she is preventing them from governing. She and her irritating laws taken from the legal code passed by the Knesset prevent policy advancement. She blocks, she interferes. Who needs a legal adviser if we can’t control her? Some ask on the political right. In a country where democracy has become a punching bag for populist and irresponsible politicians, and the rule of law is a convenient target for fans of the “strong leader” genre, at times it seems that Gali Baharav-Miara is the last dam before the flood.

If we closely examine what has made Baharav-Miara a red flag for the parties forming the current right-wing coalition, it seems that her great sin lies in the identity of the one who appointed her. Gideon Sa’ar, who was the Justice Minister in the short-lived Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, chose her from a long list of candidates and elevated her to the high position without hesitation. He found in her a high-quality, honest, and courageous professional, who could contend with the anti-constitutional and anti-democratic tsunami brewing behind the scenes long before the last elections in November 2022.

Sa’ar knew exactly what he was doing. However, due to Sa’ar’s own betrayal of Benjamin Netanyahu, the “Bibists,” the fervent supporters of the undisputed leader of the Israeli right, marked her from the outset as a Trojan horse meant to ensure Netanyahu ends up in prison. In this case, facts no longer hold any value. After all, Baharav-Miara has not filed an indictment against Netanyahu, nor has she investigated him. But a tsunami is a tsunami, and everything becomes legitimate in the attempt to turn Netanyahu into a political martyr who is only on trial because the old elite hates him.

The influence of Israel's attorney-general

Her place high up on the list of influential Jews is no coincidence: over the past two years, she has demonstrated great courage, integrity, and above all, a rare backbone. She did not bow down to protests, she did not flinch in the face of threats to fire her, and she did not hesitate to stand firm, even in the most complex and violent moments seen on Israel’s political stage. Accompanied by security guards, Baharav-Miara ignored the background noise and positioned herself in a powerful and influential stance, as befits an independent and uncompromising attorney-general. In the face of the waves of hatred hurled at her, Gali Baharav-Miara has proven that moral and ethical backbone can save wavering democracies.

The writer is a political and strategic adviser, a former news anchor and correspondent