Supreme Court to Levin: Clarify if you intend to promote appointments to Mahash during the election period

After Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara notified the Supreme Court that the deadline for submitting applications for the position of Director of the Police Investigation Department (Mahash) was extended again until August 16 — expiring about two months before the elections scheduled for October 27 — Supreme Court justices ordered Justice Minister Yariv Levin today (Tuesday) to clarify whether he intends to promote appointments to the position of head of Mahash and other positions during the election period under the new Mahash law.

In her letter, submitted yesterday as part of the petition process by the Movement for Quality Government and the Israel Bar Association, the Attorney General wrote: "The call for applications published for the position of director of the department in accordance with the Police Ordinance law was extended until August 16, and in view of this, the procedure will end at best about two months before the elections."

The Movement for Quality Government welcomed the Supreme Court's decision. The movement's chairman, Eliad Shraga, stated:

"This is a clear and sharp signal from the Supreme Court to the Justice Minister. The Supreme Court made it clear that it is impossible to ignore the rules applicable to appointments during an election period, especially when it comes to one of the most sensitive and important law enforcement positions. If the minister chooses to promote the appointment despite the pending legal process and despite the election period, the court will have to address this within the framework of the request for an interim injunction that we filed. Mahash must remain an independent body, and it is forbidden to create facts on the ground before the court has ruled on the petition and before the public has had its say at the ballot box."

Last week, it was first published on Channel 13 News that retired District Court Judge Moshe Drori, who is close to the government, is one of Minister Levin's leading candidates for the position of Commissioner for Mahash under the new law, which will enter into force in 2027.

The functions of the Commissioner and his powers under the new law include deciding on jurisdictional disputes regarding the transfer of cases between Mahash and other investigative bodies, as well as determining the investigating or prosecuting authority in cases where doubt or disagreement arises.

Several days earlier, Attorney General Baharav-Miara submitted to the Supreme Court her response to the requests for interim injunctions in the petitions against the law. In the response, the advisor warned that the amendment creates a "precedent-setting reality in which an investigation and criminal prosecution body is directly subordinate to the political echelon," and demanded to delay its implementation and the appointment procedures for office holders until a decision is reached on the petitions.

"In criminal proceedings, the state exercises coercive power and powers that are particularly infringing upon the individual," she wrote. "If the government has the means to intervene and influence criminal proceedings or effective levers of pressure on investigators and prosecutors, then human rights in the country are in serious, clear, and immediate danger, and the state's exercise of coercive power loses its legitimacy."

The law introduces full politicization into the Police Investigation Department so that its director will be chosen by the Justice Minister through a committee, the majority of which are the minister's people. The law could bring journalists into interrogation rooms without the approval of the Attorney General, and gives politicians the power to decide who will be investigated with the aim of deterring criminal investigations against the government.