The benefits battle: The Treasury stopped payments to the Military Advocate General, contrary to the Chief of Staff's decision
Exposure: Zamir decided that Tomer-Yerushalmi would receive the conditions of IDF retirees worth millions of shekels and that only the "Chief of Staff's increments" would be withheld from her - but the Accountant General at the Treasury stopped the decision. Professional sources believe that it is necessary to first understand where the criminal proceedings are heading, after which Zamir himself said he would consider further sanctions. He was furious: "The decision is within my authority." IDF: "The Chief of Staff views her actions severely and withheld one and a half million shekels from her."
The Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance, Michal Abadi-Boiangiu, stopped the decision of the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, regarding the dismissal payments of the Military Advocate General, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. This became known today (Wednesday) to ynet. Tomer-Yerushalmi's civil attorney appealed to the IDF in protest over the non-receipt of significant sums.
According to professional sources in the Treasury, the Chief of Staff's decision granted the Military Advocate General excessive and unreasonable conditions at a stage where it is unclear where the criminal proceedings are heading. The Chief of Staff was furious about the freezing of his decision and sent a letter to the Accountant General, in which he clarified: "The decision is within my authority." However, she is determined and has remained in her position.
Last May, Chief of Staff Zamir announced that he was dismissing the Military Advocate General, Tomer-Yerushalmi, following serious suspicions regarding the submission of a false affidavit to the Supreme Court and the cover-up of the investigation into the leak of the Sde Teiman video. The Chief of Staff's decision also concerned the economic conditions of the dismissal, according to which the Military Advocate General would receive all the conditions like any retiree from the IDF worth millions of shekels - and only the "Chief of Staff's increments" would be withheld from her. In the Chief of Staff's opinion, withholding a few thousand a month is enough to match the intensity of the severity of her actions, and in an opinion he received from the Military Advocate's Office, this is also the maximum rate that can be withheld.
However, since the Chief of Staff's decision, only part of the benefits he determined actually reached the Military Advocate General. Tomer-Yerushalmi appealed to the IDF, and then it turned out that the funds were frozen. The Accountant General notified the army that the Chief of Staff's decision was frozen due to an examination being carried out by professional sources in the Treasury regarding the reasonableness of the decision, and referred a series of questions to the army regarding the amount of the benefits. The Chief of Staff was furious about this and sent a letter to the Treasury stating that the funds should be released to the Military Advocate General, and that the decision to settle for withholding the "Chief of Staff's increments" is within his exclusive authority. However, the Accountant General was not deterred and did not release the funds.
At this stage, legal sources in the Ministry of Justice also entered the picture. From the reasons they received from the Treasury, it appears that the Accountant General believes that the Chief of Staff's decision regarding the benefits for the Military Advocate General is excessive and does not befit the severity of the suspicions against her. According to the professional sources in the Treasury, it is impossible for an irreversible decision to be made when the criminal legal situation of the Military Advocate General has not yet been clarified, and that at the very least, one should wait with the decision and not make it rashly without weighing the legal situation.
The IDF stated:
"The Chief of Staff's decision regarding the former Military Advocate General is a precedent-setting and serious decision, in accordance with the great severity with which the Chief of Staff viewed her actions. As published, the Chief of Staff dismissed the former Military Advocate General from her position, withheld from her the service period completion component, canceled her retirement package, and in addition withheld from her the retirement leave. Regarding the clarification of the legal situation, the Chief of Staff gave his opinion on the subject and noted, with his decision on the dismissal of the former Military Advocate General, that it would be correct to consider additional sanctions, including her demotion, in accordance with the future development in the findings of the investigation against her. The above decisions of the Chief of Staff constitute an unprecedented blow, with a cumulative value of over one and a half million shekels. Regarding the Accountant General's decision not to allow the full payments to which the Military Advocate General is entitled, the Chief of Staff's decisions were made in accordance with his command authority, in accordance with the law. If sources in the Ministry of Finance believe that this is not the case, it is correct that they hold a dialogue on this in the appropriate channels."
No response was provided by the Ministry of Finance.
