Knesset debates immunity for MK Tally Gotliv amid Iran missile crisis

Baharav-Miara joined the panel, making a rare Knesset appearance. The discussion focused on Gotliv’s remarks and is expected to continue on Tuesday to hear the opinion of the attorney-general and other lawmakers before a final vote on whether to issue immunity for Gotliv.

The debate over Gotliv’s immunity came despite the renewed conflict with Iran, which began the evening before and continued throughout the day.

This led to sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers over focusing on the contentious matter while the country remained under threat from Iranian missiles, and as all schools were closed nationwide.

An additional panel to advance the highly controversial bill on conducting a political probe into the October 7 Hamas attacks had also remained on the Knesset’s schedule throughout the morning, until it was later announced that the meeting was postponed.

The indictment against  Gotliv was filed by Baharav-Miara in May for allegedly publishing the identity of the partner of protest leader Shikma Bressler, who, according to the indictment, was a Shin Bet employee.

Under the Knesset Members’ Immunity Law, Gotliv was able to request that the Knesset grant her immunity from criminal prosecution before the case proceeded to court.

“It’s a blessed day,” Gotliv told the panel in her opening remarks, over having the ability to request immunity in the Knesset. Her argument focused on personally criticizing Bahrav-Maria and stated that she should be fired from her role as attorney-general.

In Gotliv’s lengthy remarks spanning over multiple hours, she also screened a video to the panel with clips that she presented as “evidence of betrayal” during the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023. She made accusations of treason that she claimed took place during the attacks, presenting various theories to the panel and sparking outrage from opposition MKs.

MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid) said that “An insane event is currently taking place in the Knesset House Committee, in which a deranged MK is spreading wild conspiracy theories and accusing the IDF and the Shin Bet of treason.”

MK Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid) was also a vocal critic in the panel, later slamming Likud lawmakers and saying that “the party reaches a new low” every day.

Democrats leader Yair Golan slammed the government, stating that, while schools are closed due to the Iranian missile threat, and “while residents of the North are running to shelters under fire... the coalition is mobilizing the Knesset to defend Tally Gotliv’s immunity.”

The charge listed in the indictment against Gotliv is revealing and publishing confidential information under the Shin Bet law.

“Why are you indicting me? Because you do not know what to do with me. I acted under the authority of my immunity. I exposed Bressler’s partner,” Gotliv told the panel.

“Parliamentary immunity is sacred; I deliberately exposed Shikma Bressler’s partner under my substantive parliamentary immunity,” she said.

Goltiv and numerous other lawmakers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly clashed with Baharav-Miara for years. The government voted to fire the A-G last year amid the ongoing rift, but the High Court struck down the decision.

Ahead of the Knesset debate, Baharav-Miara penned a letter to members of the panel, requesting that Gotliv’s immunity be denied.

She explained that the indictment against Gotliv was filed on the basis of “professional, objective, and good-faith discretion,” and that none of the grounds for parliamentary immunity applied in her case.

The discussion was led by coalition whip Ofir Katz and held in a room that also serves as a protective space, due to the Iran conflict.

MKs were required to abide by special requirements in the panel, and later will be expected to vote on granting Gotliv immunity.

Lawmakers were not permitted to make interruptions, or they would have been removed from the panel, and the rules stipulated that only MKs who participated in all meetings on the matter would be eligible to vote. Attendance for at least half the duration of a meeting would be considered participation. An additional meeting on the matter has been scheduled for Tuesday.

The indictment against Gotliv was filed in May, based on her publishing on January 24, 2024, a screenshot from the website Edna Karnaval that included the full name of Bressler’s partner and claims tying him to alleged contacts with then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar before the October 7 massacre.

The indictment said that the post received in excess of: 400,000 views, 1,000 comments, 1,000 likes, and 500 shares. It said that Gotliv’s X/Twitter account had over 65,000 followers at the start of the relevant period, and over 90,000 by the time the indictment was filed.

Prosecutors alleged that Gotliv revealed and published the name of the Shin Bet employee and his relationship with Bressler “knowingly, deliberately, continuously, demonstratively, and repeatedly.”

The indictment further said that Gotliv stood by the publication, repeatedly published similar statements in which she again identified Bressler’s partner as a Shin Bet employee, and publicly stated that she had no intention of removing, or apologizing for, what she had written.

The Mossad denied the claim at the time, calling it a “recycled falsehood” and saying Barnea had “never met, spoken to, or invited Shikma Bressler to a meeting.”

Earlier in May, Defense Minister Israel Katz signed a certificate of confidentiality ahead of the indictment filing, clearing a procedural obstacle that had delayed the case.

Gotliv has repeatedly framed the matter as a political and legal fight over her work as an MK. In her post ahead of the indictment, she wrote that the attorney-general had acted after Katz signed the confidentiality certificate, and said she had not yet received the indictment, adding that she expected to read it “soon at one of [Miara’s] mouthpieces.”