The AG, Gali Baharav Miara, on Thursday announced her opposition to the separate swimming pilot that was proposed by Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman, in collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The pilot was going to test a separate swimming option for men and women after 5 PM when the springs in the parks close for the day, which would have zero impact on the secular population. The AG killed the pilot – not a policy, but a test of an idea that accommodates the needs of Orthodox, Jewish (and Muslim) men and women and offers them equal rights in access to springs. She declared that even that measly move is illegal and would require special legislation.
Now, you and I know what would happen once the coalition passes such legislation: an army of “civil rights” groups would petition the High Court of Justice claiming they oppose this or that principle of equality, and the court would happily revoke the legislation.
This brazen sabotage of an attempt to meet the needs of deserving Orthodox Jews in a manner that does not harm anyone else may have been the straw that broke the coalition camel’s back. Senior coalition members told Kan11 News Thursday night that the AG “leaves us no choice but to advance her impeachment.”
Knesset Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni said: “In the AG’s office, the term ‘equality’ exists only regarding a certain public and not when it comes to the Haredim, the religious, and the Arabs. The natural springs in Israel belong to everyone and not only to certain communities. Can someone explain to me why the Haredi woman who wants to bathe separately does not deserve equality?”
In July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in conversations behind closed doors with his ministers that he did not rule out the possibility of dismissing Baharav-Miara. The alleged statement followed a five-hour clash between a very angry Netanyahu government and a very impervious AG over the failure of the justice system to prevent thousands of anarchists from routinely disrupting law and order in Israel.
Four Likud ministers, including Miri Regev and David Amsalem, went on the record describing the deep mistrust between the government and the AG, and openly called for her sacking, regardless of their party’s official denials.
According to the Shamgar committee’s decision 2274 from August 2000, there are four grounds for terminating the term of office of the Attorney General:
1. If there are substantial and prolonged disagreements between the government and the Attorney General, which create a situation that prevents effective cooperation;
2. If the AG committed an act that is not appropriate for his/her position;
3. If the AG is no longer qualified to perform his/her duties;
4. If a criminal investigation is underway against the AG.
Go ahead, Bibi, pick one of the above and run with it.
