Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg on Tuesday dismissed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s stance and ordered her to submit an affidavit addressing serious allegations raised against her. The affidavit must also disclose the nature of her close and personal relationships with acting Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman. The decision came in response to a petition filed by the Lavi good governance organization.
The petition argues that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is disqualified from handling the two clandestine police officials due to their close ties with her husband, a former Shin Bet officer. According to media reports, both Bar and Argaman maintained longstanding personal connections with AG’s family, including social visits and private gatherings—relationships that have never been denied.
Despite these connections, Attorney General Baharav-Miara continues to personally handle Nadav Argaman’s petition and is actively leading a legal effort to prevent the dismissal of Ronen Bar as head of the Shin Bet—directly opposing the government’s stance. According to the petitioners, this constitutes a blatant violation of civil service regulations, ethical rules governing public officials, and the conflict-of-interest agreement Baharav-Miara herself signed, which explicitly requires her to recuse herself from matters involving personal associates.
Instead, in response to a press inquiry about the petition, the Attorney General’s office simply stated: “We will not comment.”
Well, they’re going to have to comment now.
Baharav-Miara maintained that there was no need to amend the conflict-of-interest agreement she had signed, nor to examine the nature of her relationships. She also declined to submit an affidavit, as is customary in such cases. Her position was firmly rejected, and the court has now ruled that she must provide a formal statement, disclose relevant details, and directly address the allegations against her.
It was recently reported that Baharav-Miara is involved in a romantic relationship with a former senior Mossad official who is also a major prosecution witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial. Her husband, Zion Miara, is seriously ill, uses a wheelchair, and suffers from advanced muscular dystrophy and severe respiratory issues.
Journalist Avishai Greenzaig revealed on i24News that the witness is Yaakov (Jackie) Eshel, a former high-ranking Mossad officer and former CEO of Blue Sky International (BSI). The company, originally founded by Arnon Milchan––also involved directly in Netanyahu’s trial––was later acquired by Australian billionaire James Packer––another actor in the prosecution’s charges––and was active in the field of information security.
And yet, despite the close connection between Yaakov (Jackie) Eshel and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who also oversees the state prosecution, the relationship was never disclosed to the defense team in Netanyahu’s trial. As a result, defense attorney Amit Hadad, who cross-examined Eshel, was unaware of his personal history and was therefore unable to question him about it.
Notably, Eshel’s name does not appear in the conflict-of-interest agreement Baharav-Miara signed upon assuming office. Only the legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice was informed, with a promise made that Baharav-Miara would not handle matters relating to Eshel.
