Lawyer with no criminal law experience tapped as next Israel Public Prosecutor

Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar has tapped former prosecutor Gali Baharav-Miara to succeed Avichai Mandelblit as next Public Prosecutor, local media reported on Monday.

Baharav-Miara has worked for 30 years in the civil division of the State Prosecutor’s Office. Her nomination by Sa’ar was widely criticised because she lacks experience in criminal law.

She is one of three nominees, but she has Sa’ar’s backing and that of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, reports claim, making her a likely candidate to replace Mandelblit.

Sa’ar said in a statement that he supports Baharav-Miara for the position “because she’s the best candidate, the most seasoned, the most appropriate, with the richest and most impressive professional and administrative background.”

Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that the chairman of the search committee, retired Supreme Court Justice Asher Grunis, opposed the nomination saying Baharav-Miara lacked experience in criminal law.

Israeli lawyer, Eitay Mack, said Baharav-Miara’s nomination meets the ambitions of right-wing politicians and groups because her lack of experience in criminal law will lead to the role of Public Prosecutor being split into two positions.

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This is, according to Haaretz, Sa’ar’s plan. He has been seeking to divide the role into “one to be filled by the legal adviser to the cabinet and government authorities, and the other to serve as the country’s chief prosecutor.”

Eitay Mack said that this division aims to weaken the position of the Public Prosecutor, as well as the law enforcement authorities.

Baharav-Miara’s civil law background will help her meet the desires of the Israeli security institution, to which Baharav-Miara has proved her loyalty in the past.

While she was working in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she acted as part of the unit which ended lawsuits related to compensating Palestinians for the damage inflicted by Israeli forces, Mack said.

She has also given full protection to the Israeli security institution and exempted it of any responsibility for the damage it causes to Palestinians. By so doing, she has scared Palestinians who turn to Israeli courts to seek their rights.