The approach of the next chancellor of the Israeli government: Yes to apartheid... and we will pursue every Palestinian who goes to the courts

It is her background in the field of civil law and the absence of her experience in the criminal field that gives the leading candidate, lawyer Ghali Behrav Mayara, the position of legal advisor to the government, the best chance to beat the other candidates. It can be assumed that these advantages led to her being the preferred candidate over Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar.

Mayara's inexperience in the criminal field may be an asset to those who advocate dividing the job of legal counsel to the government. Those who oppose the partition say it aims to weaken the status of the legal advisory establishment and law enforcement agencies and increase their politicization. Although there are experts who support partition for objective reasons, it is something that is being pushed by right-wing politicians and organizations. But not only will the appointment of Attorney Mayara help implement the partition plan, her background in the civil sphere indicates that she can fulfill the wishes of the state's powerful body: the security apparatus.

Attorney Mayara demonstrated her unlimited devotion to the security apparatus, whether in high-ranking administrative positions in the Tel Aviv District Public Prosecution Office (civilian) or as a private lawyer. While occupying senior positions in the State’s Public Prosecution, she transformed the state’s judicial representation in compensation claims for Palestinians who were harmed by the security forces, into a kind of judicial liquidation unit, which aimed to give the security apparatus complete protection from any responsibility, and in return, deter Palestinians from turning to Israeli courts.

Under her leadership, the Public Prosecution Office worked in a “pincer method.” On the one hand, pushing forward in the Knesset to expand the definition stipulated in the “military activity” law; Because it is a definition that gives the security apparatus protection from Palestinian claims. In the end, after a number of legislative amendments, the absolute majority of the activities of the security forces in the occupied territories turned into protected activities. For example, in the debate that took place in the Constitution Committee in the Knesset on October 9, 2009, Mayara’s representative said that “there is no claim of compensation for damages in the intifada.”

On the other hand, the Public Prosecution conducted a struggle in the courtrooms. It began to demand a complete rejection of the Palestinians' claims under the pretext of protection because of "war activity". It also asked the plaintiffs to deposit guarantees to guarantee the state's expenses in amounts considered huge for most Palestinian families. At times, the procedures and deliberations in the courts were conducted by the state in a professional manner, so that it appeared that they were aimed at verifying the killing of the human dignity of the Palestinian plaintiffs, journalists, ordinary workers, parents of children who were injured or killed, farmers and the elderly, and students who were shot, beaten or tortured by policemen and soldiers This is to make them regret the day they decided to try and seek a little justice in the Israeli courts.

Of course, the level of violence or humanity in managing files changes according to the personal nature of each attorney general or deputy. But as happens in the military, there is a sense of the spirit of the leader in court proceedings; Thus, Behrav Mayara contributed to the State of Israel's approach to the apartheid regime in South Africa, in which the legislation and policy of the Public Prosecution Office were also targeted and to grant sweeping protection to the security apparatus from claims to compensate the African residents for damages.

If someone fears that Mayara will carry out the instructions of those responsible, and there is talk, especially - God forbid - about a left-wing woman in the box that will one day be filmed in the supplemental film for “Guardians of the Threshold”, it is a fear that dissipated after she was liberated from “service” in the Public Prosecution . On 1/9/2019, after Behrav Mayara started working in a private office, she agreed to enlist for a special mission behind enemy lines.

If Hanna Sench, parachuted into Yugoslavia to aid the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe, Mayara has been “landed” behind enemy lines these days — not the nuclear reactor in Iran, but the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In the face of continuous campaigning by the Netanyahu governments about the danger of the Hague Tribunal, it needed courage, and it prepared a legal opinion for Defense Minister Benny Gantz and former Air Force Commander Amir Eshel, in their defense from the compensation claim submitted by Ismail Ziada, a Dutch citizen from the Bureij camp. For refugees in the Gaza Strip, his mother (70 years old) and her three children, the fiancée of her son and her grandson (12 years), were killed in an air strike on the family home in 2014.

Reading the opinion that I prepared is like reading a book of fiction, even though the Public Prosecution Office led by Behrav Mayara, in fact, waged a fierce war against claims for compensation filed by Palestinians who were harmed by the security apparatus. In the above-mentioned opinion, the judiciary in Israel is described as an enjoyable recreation package for any disabled, dead or bereaved Palestinian to use, resembling an astonishing hosting package offered by the State Prosecutor to the Palestinians. Mayara did not hesitate to direct readers to the lawsuit filed by a Palestinian against the Ministry of Defense and against Lt. Col. Shaul Eisner, in which he received compensation in the framework of a conciliatory agreement with the Public Prosecution Office. The reference was attributed to Eisner, despite striking the Palestinian Naim Shukair with the butt of the rifle, and the military court convicted him, but the Tel Aviv District Prosecution led by it submitted a defense statement that turned things around, and considered Eisner a victim, and those who were harmed were attackers, and justified his actions.

Prosecutors wrote that Eisner used the rifle as a police baton to fend off protesters, and that he suffered more damage than the damage inflicted on the protesters he hit on their faces and backs, and that Choucair is accused of attacking himself and the damage to his spine. Even Eisner's lawyers were surprised and praised the defense. Contrary to the rosy picture painted in this legal opinion, the deal was reached in this file; Because, in the course of the judicial process, the testimonies of soldiers and officers of the Military Investigation Police, who completely disavowed Eisner's actions, testified that they were not justified, were revealed; In other words, the prosecution, led by Mayara, presented a defense statement that contradicted even the testimonies of soldiers and officers and the conviction in the military court, because the important thing is that no Palestinian lawsuit is accepted.

According to its vision and history, every honest Israeli should express his concern over the appointment of a weak legal advisor, who legitimizes and signs all the whims and crimes of the security apparatus.

By: Etty Mac

Ha'aretz 1/2/2022