Jerusalem, 4 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced on Tuesday his plan to appoint a retired judge as a special prosecutor to lead the investigation into former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
Levin said Judge Asher Kula — currently the country’s State Ombudsman for Judges — would take over from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom he claims cannot participate due to a conflict of interest.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who recently resigned as the Israel Defense Forces’ top legal officer, is accused of fraud, breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and unlawful disclosure of classified material in what has become known as the Sde Teiman leak scandal.
Levin argued that Baharav-Miara’s office had previously submitted legal arguments to Israel’s High Court of Justice on behalf of the Military Advocate General’s Office, which he contends were inaccurate and misleading.
“I believe that the Ombudsman for Judges, both as an institution and personally, is the best possible solution to what is required in this case,” Levin said. “His appointment will enjoy broad public trust, which is necessary in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.”
The Justice Minister formally informed interim Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz of his intention to assign Kula to the investigation, stating that the retired judge had agreed to take the position. Kula, 71, served as deputy president of the Nazareth District Court before becoming the Ombudsman for Judges.
Baharav-Miara dismissed Levin’s claims of a conflict of interest as unfounded and insisted the Justice Minister lacks the authority to bypass her office.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, is currently in custody. Israeli authorities have conducted extensive searches for her cell phone on a beach in the coastal city of Herzliya, suspecting she may have disposed of it in the sea. The investigation centers not only on the leak itself but also on possible obstruction of justice and other related offenses.
Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned on Friday and was arrested Sunday night after disappearing for hours along the Tel Aviv coastline. Police continue to search for her phone, prompting suspicion that she staged a suicide attempt to destroy evidence. Following her arrest, she underwent medical and psychological evaluations before being taken to Neve Tirza Women’s Prison in Ramla.
The video at the center of the case shows alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention facility. The Palestinian, whose name has not been publicly released, returned to Gaza on October 13 when Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Five IDF reservists from the Force 100 Military Police unit were indicted in February for assault and causing severe injury.
Honenu, a legal aid organization representing two of the reservists, called for the charges to be dropped. “We call on the Military Advocate General’s Office to annul the indictments immediately,” the group said.
In his remarks at the beginning of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “perhaps the most severe propaganda attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment. I don’t remember one that was so focused. This requires an independent and impartial investigation, and I expect that one will also be carried out.”
The Sde Teiman facility, established in southern Israel after the outbreak of the Gaza war, has held more than 1,000 detainees from Gaza suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
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