Legal Advisor to the Government, Attorney Gali Baharav, spoke today (Monday) at the Bar Association conference, rejecting the coalition's claims that she and her team are not cooperating with the government.
She clarified that despite the need for cooperation with the political echelon in order to submit government activity, "the claim that we do not cooperate with the government is disconnected from reality.".
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However, she emphasized that cooperation does not relieve legal advisors from the obligation to ensure that policies and actions are carried out in accordance with the law.
In addition, she attacked the issue of equality of burden, against the backdrop of the failure to advance a significant conscription law - and said: "A discussion of the legal aspects involved in war requires special attention to the issue of equality of burden. A situation in which the state increases the burden on those serving due to the war while an entire sector is almost not conscripted most blatantly violates equality before the law. In practice, not everyone is equal, and the basic sense of justice is seriously damaged.".
She added: "According to the professional elements in the army, each regular soldier is equivalent to several reserve soldiers. The calculation is simple - the recruitment of conscripts who have not been recruited so far will greatly reduce the heavy burden placed on reserve personnel and the damage to the economy.".
The Defense Service Law requires uniform and equal recruitment. This is the legal situation. In contrast, a draft law that has not yet been created is not a work plan, and it does not exempt from the obligation to recruit and enlist.
""In discussions I held with the participation of the defense establishment, the Ministry of Finance, and other government officials, the low recruitment numbers among yeshiva students were presented. It was made clear that a key to increasing the ranks of the army is increasing enforcement against evaders.".
This refers, of course, to all evaders, from all parts of the population, and not just to yeshiva students.
The attorney general emphasized: "Effective sanctions must be personal. As explained by security officials, the sanctions must meet the individual in his personal life, at the airport, in his bank account, in the use of his vehicle, and so on.".
""Unlike personal sanctions, community sanctions are not perceived by professionals as having the same potential impact. They do not direct the behavior of the individuals themselves.".
She outlined her plan: "From a legal perspective, three steps are required: Step one - a very significant increase in the scope of conscription orders. Effectively dealing with the shortage of servicemen begins with a call to report to all candidates for conscription. The legal starting point is that in the upcoming conscription year, which will begin in July, the army will send conscription orders to the entire relevant population. Both to those in the current year and to those tens of thousands whose service was deferred in the past. Deviating from this would require presenting special and weighty professional reasons.".
""Step two - exhausting the existing military enforcement tools in relation to tax evaders. Step three - expanding the basket of sanctions and incentives in relation to tax evaders.".
According to her, "additional significant enforcement measures can be promoted through government decisions, without legislation. This is in the hands of the executive branch."
"The Ministerial".
She continued: "The Chief of Staff has instructed the army to formulate a plan to significantly increase the scope of conscription orders and exhaust existing enforcement tools. I welcome this. I understand that the plan is supposed to be presented shortly. With regard to expanding the basket of sanctions, the government has so far refrained from advancing the issue. This conduct is inconsistent with the needs of the
"The army and with the constitutional right to equality. Change is needed, and we are at the government's disposal in this matter as well.".
In her speech, the attorney general referred to the deterioration, as she claimed, in the legal and political reality in Israel, and noted: "Under the guise of war, the disregard for the law is palpable. This is not a warning about the future, this is the actual reality.".
She clarified: "The regime system is changing before our eyes, and a central aspect of the change is the systematic weakening of checks and balances, and especially dangerous is the ongoing attack on the judiciary and its independence.".
She further emphasized that the independence of the judiciary is the cornerstone of preventing abuse of governmental power in Israel, and that "an aggrieved citizen has no other effective address for seeking redress." She said that changing the image of the judiciary could lead to an irreversible weakening of democracy.
