Knesset panel approves immunity for Tally Gotliv in Shin Bet identity disclosure case

Eleven lawmakers voted in favor, while three voted against after three days of discussions on the matter that spanned from the early morning into the afternoon.

Baharav-Miara filed the indictment against Gotliv in May for publishing the identity of the partner of protest leader Shikma Bressler, who, according to the indictment, was a Shin Bet employee.

Under the Knesset Members’ Immunity Law, Gotliv was able to request that the Knesset grant her immunity from criminal prosecution before the case proceeded to court. The attorney-general has argued that Gotliv’s actions do not allow her to qualify for parliamentary immunity.

Last week, Baharav-Miara told the panel that Gotliv created a severe security risk by exposing the personal details of a Shin Bet agent during wartime.

Baharav-Miara presented the committee members with a top-secret document containing a professional opinion issued by the Shin Bet.

The main part of the classified opinion detailed real examples of Shin Bet employees whose names were exposed, putting their lives at real and immediate risk, the report added.

Goltiv’s argument to the panel centered around the claim that sharing the identity was warranted, and she has not denied doing so.

She told the panel that she did the act knowingly, arguing that it was justified and that she should receive immunity as an MK. Gotliv also focused for multiple hours on renewing claims that treason had taken place during the October 7 attacks and presented various theories on the matter.

Her remarks involved a lengthy personal attack against Baharav-Miara. She also screened a video last week to the panel with clips that she presented as “evidence of betrayal” during the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023. She made accusations of treason that she claimed took place during the attacks, presenting various theories to the panel and sparking outrage from opposition MKs.

The charge listed in the indictment against Gotliv is revealing and publishing confidential information under the Shin Bet law.

“Why are you indicting me? Because you do not know what to do with me. I acted under the authority of my immunity. I exposed [anti-judicial reform activist Shikma] Bressler’s partner,” Gotliv told last week's panel.

Opposition coordinator Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari told the panel that “in all the hours Gotliv spoke, she did not once address the offense she is here for today.

“Not only did she take no responsibility, but she amplified the offense she committed. She provided no testimony or shred of evidence to support her claims,” she added.

Opposition lawmakers repeatedly spoke against committee chairperson Ofir Katz’s (Likud) conduct during the debates and penned a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) about it. They objected to the fact that he continuously kicked out MKs for interrupting Gotliv, while he allowed Gotliv to interrupt the A-G as she presented her stance to the panel.

Lawmakers were not permitted to make interruptions, or they would have been removed from the panel, and the rules stipulated that only MKs who participated in all meetings on the matter would be eligible to vote. Attendance for at least half the duration of a meeting would be considered participation. As a result, some opposition lawmakers were unable to partake in the deciding vote.

The first debate also took place last week on Monday, despite the renewed conflict with Iran that had begun the evening before and continued throughout the day. This also led to sharp criticism from lawmakers.

Ahead of the first Knesset debate on Monday, Baharav-Miara wrote a letter to members of the panel, requesting that Gotliv’s immunity be denied.

She explained that the indictment against Gotliv was filed on the basis of “professional, objective, and good-faith discretion,” and that none of the grounds for parliamentary immunity applied in her case.

The Movement for Quality Government warned against the decision to grant Gotliv immunity, stating that parliamentary immunity was not being applied properly.

The organization noted that the Knesset committee “chose to protect an elected official who is accused of a serious offense, the disclosure and publication of classified information in violation of the Shin Bet Law, a publication which, according to reports, endangered the life of a Shin Bet official and his family.”

“Parliamentary immunity is intended to protect the work of the Knesset and the freedom of action of elected officials, and not to serve as a shield against criminal proceedings,” the group added.

It further stated that the Knesset should not be “turned into a safe haven for criminals,” and called on lawmakers to reject the immunity request in the upcoming final plenum vote.

The 11 MKs in favor of Gotliv's immunity were all from the coaltion: Katz, Nissim Vaturi (Likud), Amit Halevi (Likud), Moshe Saada (Likud), Avichay Boaron (Likud), Miki Zohar (Likud), Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), Uriel Busso (Shas), Yosef Taieb (Shas), Yitzhak Goldknopf (UTJ), and  Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit).

The three lawmakers who voted against were Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu), Naor Shiri (Yesh Atid), and Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh-Atid).

The indictment against Gotliv was filed in May, based on her publishing on January 24, 2024, a screenshot from the website Edna Karnaval that included the full name of Bressler’s partner and claims tying him to alleged contacts with then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar before the October 7 massacre.

Karnaval is described by the indictment as having a “critical and blunt” style, especially toward public officials.

The screenshot, according to the indictment, included a headline alleging that Mossad chief David Barnea had received information from the US that they had intercepted calls between Bressler’s partner and Sinwar four days before October 7. The article further claimed that Barnea had summoned Bressler to a meeting, and that the Prime Minister’s Office had later issued a denial of Gotliv’s earlier statements.

The indictment said that the post received in excess of 400,000 views, 1,000 comments, 1,000 likes, and 500 shares. It said that Gotliv’s X/Twitter account had over 65,000 followers at the start of the relevant period, and over 90,000 by the time the indictment was filed.

Prosecutors alleged that Gotliv revealed and published the name of the Shin Bet employee and his relationship with Bressler “knowingly, deliberately, continuously, demonstratively, and repeatedly.”

The indictment said that the post remained available online from the time of publication until the indictment was filed, and that Gotliv did not remove it from her account.

The indictment further said that Gotliv stood by the publication, repeatedly published similar statements in which she again identified Bressler’s partner as a Shin Bet employee, and publicly stated that she had no intention of removing, or apologizing for, what she had written.

The Mossad denied the claim at the time, calling it a “recycled falsehood” and saying Barnea had “never met, spoken to, or invited Shikma Bressler to a meeting.”

Gotliv has repeatedly framed the matter as a political and legal fight over her work as an MK. In her post ahead of the indictment, she wrote that the attorney-general had acted after Katz signed the confidentiality certificate, and said she had not yet received the indictment, adding that she expected to read it “soon at one of [Baharav-Miara’s] mouthpieces.”