In a dramatic legal clash, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli told Israel’s Supreme Court that the Shamgar framework for removing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is “impossible to implement,” setting the stage for a high-stakes constitutional standoff.
In a direct challenge to Israel’s highest court, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli declared on Wednesday that the Shamgar framework—proposed by Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg as a pathway for dismissing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara—is simply unfeasible.
Their defiant response came just one day after Sohlberg urged the government to follow the Shamgar Committee’s recommendations, which require forming a special search committee to oversee such a dismissal.
The government’s submission to the court detailed a dead-end search:
- All seven former attorneys general signed a petition opposing Baharav-Miara’s removal.
- Eleven of 14 former justice ministers were disqualified due to conflicts of interest.
- The remaining three refused to serve, despite repeated persuasion attempts.
With the Shamgar route blocked, Levin and Chikli argue that the government must now exercise its legal authority under the Civil Service Law and Interpretation Law, with only a limited amendment to an existing government resolution from 2000.
“We left no stone unturned,” the ministers insisted. “The framework’s basic assumptions simply do not work in reality. The government must ensure a functioning, coordinated legal service.”
In a striking flourish, the response concluded with a biblical reference from Zechariah 8:19:
“Love truth and peace.”
The confrontation underscores deepening tensions between the executive branch and the judiciary, with Baharav-Miara’s future now at the heart of a looming constitutional crisis.
