Despite being appointed justice minister in late December 2023, Yariv Levin is yet to establish a presence at the ministry, not like his predecessors, in any case. According to ministry employees, he prefers working out of his office in the Knesset or from the Prime Minister’s Office rather than the Justice Ministry’s office in east Jerusalem. One of the reasons for this, it seems, is that it allows him to hold less visible meetings. As Knesset Speaker, Levin used to shred all of his documents on a daily basis and was extremely careful about the people he allowed into his office. As such, Levin’s natural suspicion, coupled with the disdain he feels toward employees of the Justice Ministry, is also dictating his current behavior. Moreover, the fact that the justice minister’s office is directly adjacent to that of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, meaning anyone visiting the minister must pass by that of the AG, makes the situation even more clear-cut. Levin prefers to conduct his affairs somewhere where his daily agenda is less exposed, and his working relations with those around him are less tense.

Both Levin’s media adviser and the Justice Ministry’s spokesperson, representing the attorney general, declined to reveal how many work meetings Levin and Baharav-Miara held. They also refused to respond to the rest of the claims made later in this article. But an analysis of the data relating to how many hours Levin spent in the Knesset, as published by the Zman Knesset website, reveals that he spent more time in the Knesset than any other minister apart from Orit Strook (Levin spent 297 hours in parliament, compared to Strook’s 319 hours).

“His presence is not felt in the ministry. There was no ceremony when he was appointed and no formal photograph of him with the Attorney General, State Attorney, or the Director General of the ministry. There wasn’t even a traditional Passover toast,” say people who have been at the ministry under several ministers. “These might appear like trivial matters, but it reflects the disintegration that the ministry is currently experiencing. Levin does not care about the Justice Ministry as a ministry, just as a platform for passing the judicial reform. He does not hold regular meetings with his Attorney General and her deputies. He's not part of that game. All of his energy is devoted to the mega-project he calls the reform.”

How does Levin spend his days? People involved in the negotiations being held by President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence between the government and members of the opposition to find a compromise on the judicial overhaul say, “There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work and many fronts to manage, given that this is something the entire world is watching and trying to influence. Levin is not part of the Likud’s negotiating team, but they keep him in the loop; he is updated constantly and navigates every step forward. It’s a full-time job; he has to make sure that Bibi doesn’t diverge from him and talk to Sara [Netanyahu] at least twice a day. His people are active on the Likud’s social media platforms. They organize demonstrations, including the one held last Thursday, which Levin attended. There’s a whole operation going on here, and his managerial attention is completely focused on that – not on work meetings with the Deputy Attorney General or the Director of the land registry.”

Would that be a routine day at the justice minister – meeting with the heads of the divisions to get work plans approved?

“Correct, and when the minister neglects the ministry, and when there is a Director General [Itamar Donenfeld] who is not a jurist and is viewed as an outsider to the profession and the ministry, that has implications. On the other hand, I am sure that, from his perspective, he is dealing with ministry affairs: the makeup of the judicial selection committee, the Attorney General Law, and the override clause. As far as he is concerned, previous ministers talked a lot but did nothing. And he’s come along and put the overhaul firmly on the table.”

"There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work and many fronts to manage, given that this is something the entire world is watching and trying to influence. Levin is not part of the Likud’s negotiating team, but they keep him in the loop; he is updated constantly and navigates every step forward. It’s a full-time job; he has to make sure that Bibi doesn’t diverge from him and talk to Sara [Netanyahu] at least twice a day."

Who is the Wallflower?

One particularly colorful example of the problematic working relations between the Minister and the Justice Ministry’s civil service came in a speech Levin made at the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in January. “Yesterday, a meeting was held at the Justice Ministry, with the participation of the Attorney General and all her deputies,” Levin said. “No one thought to tell me what they planned to say at this committee meeting today. Do you think anyone thought of asking me my opinion? Maybe I had something to say? Give me a chance, don’t take it into account, just consider it. But to prepare an opinion behind the minister’s back and for me to hear it for the first time here? I told one of the deputies who came for a meeting with me, ‘When I became justice minister, I noticed that unlike in the other ministries I served in, there aren’t any ornaments at the Justice Ministry. Now I know why: Because the minister himself is only an ornament! This is totally unacceptable and shows how profoundly the working relations between the minister and the attorney general have been misunderstood.”

Watch Levin at the Justice Committee in January (Hebrew)

“His presence is not felt in the ministry. There was no ceremony when he was appointed and no formal photograph of him with the Attorney General, State Attorney, or the Director General of the ministry. There wasn’t even a traditional Passover toast,” say people who have been at the ministry under several ministers.

The disconnect between Levin and the ministry’s Legal Counsel and Legislative Affairs Department – the department with which the minister usually has the most interaction – has implications for the lives of every Israeli citizen. Usually, the Justice Ministry and the Finance Ministry are responsible for the bulk of the legislation passed by the government in the Knesset. But, it seems that any legislation by the Justice Ministry not related to the judicial overhaul has come to a halt.

The question, therefore, is: What about the judicial overhaul? It was advanced through a series of private members’ bills rather than government-sponsored legislation. This process averted the need for dialogue with civil servants at the Legal Counsel and Legislative Affairs Department. The ministry has never submitted an official memorandum on the issue outlining its professional position. The documents that Levin drafted and distributed in January, which he called a legal memorandum, were published on his behalf and not on behalf of the Justice Ministry.

“Avital Sompolinsky, who is the Deputy Attorney General in charge of public-constitutional law, and her team, which are precisely authorized to deal with these issues, are not involved in the most significant legislation of recent years,” says one source who knows the work of the ministry inside and out. “They should not be making these amendments without the legal opinion of professional jurists specializing in these fields. Instead of engaging the ministry in dialogue before submitting the bill, all the discussions are held at the Knesset committee– in a very confrontational manner. I saw how Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman treats the deputy AGs who attend the meetings. He also does not see them as legal professionals whose opinion should be valued.”

The disconnect from the Legal Counsel and Legislative Affairs Department also has a detrimental impact on the routine work of the ministry. “The Economic Arrangements Law [which accompanies the approval of the state budget] contains amendments relating to the Justice Ministry’s affairs,” says one jurist familiar with the ministry’s operations. “In the state budget law passed by the Bennett-Lapid government, there were 17 such amendments, but with the current law, not a single amendment from the Justice Ministry has been presented, even though there are some things that could suit Levin’s agenda if only he would pay attention to them. But that’s not where he is focused right now. He wanted the be appointed Justice Minister, but he’s not interested in the various departments and the routine work of the ministry. Levin opts to work with the Knesset, where he feels more at home, rather than the ministry departments. This is unprecedented behavior, even when ministers had run-ins with the civil service.”

The lack of communication manifests in the number of memoranda and regulations the ministry manages to pass since no legislative process can be launched without the minister's approval. The same goes for the number of bills the ministry submits to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which also requires the minister’s cooperation.

Only five legal memoranda and two draft resolutions were submitted during the first four months of Levin's tenure. Two of these memoranda were submitted the day after Shomrim filed a question about the number of memoranda submitted during that period. Compared to the first four months of the previous justice minister’s tenure, it is clear that there has been a massive decline (see table below).

The number of bills submitted by the ministry is also in decline compared to Levin’s predecessors. Levin’s predecessor, Gideon Sa’ar, submitted 15 bills during the same period, while Levin has filed just seven. Shomrim asked both the Justice Ministry and Levin for their response to a number of questions, but neither has replied.

“All the professional work has ground to a halt because it needs approval from the minister to go forward,” says one ministry insider. One example of this was revealed some two weeks ago when Levin failed to renew a temporary order allowing convicts to convert a custodial sentence of up to nine months into community service. Discussions over the order were renewed, but, at the time of writing, it is not in effect, and convicts can currently only convert sentences of up to six months.

Another example was provided last week by Yisrael Hayom, which revealed that Levin has not signed off on 30 memoranda and resolutions. Among them is an amendment to the Criminal Registry Law, which was supposed to close loopholes that allowed people with criminal records to act as foster parents or to work in ultra-Orthodox educational institutions. Other legislation that is stuck includes one that would transfer money to victims of crime who have not been awarded compensation by the courts and another that offers financial advice to help rehabilitate people who find themselves in the cycle of poverty.

As Shomrim reported earlier this month [Hebrew], the delays are also impacting the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Committee and the appointment of new judges in the Sharia and Druze court systems. At the time of writing, there are at least 30 unfilled positions – judges and registrars – in these religious courts.

"The personal attacks against attorneys and police officers have created a lack of initiative,” says one person who knows the issue up close. “There are no investigations into large, nationwide corruption cases. How many people have been questioned under caution over breach of trust or bribery by the Lahav 433 crime-fighting unit, accompanied by the State Attorney? Close to zero".

When No One Checks, Corruption Drops

What is it like working in the Justice Ministry under a minister who is not only absent and does not see ministry officials as colleagues but is actively hostile toward them? One official who has left the ministry describes an atmosphere of cleaning out of the stables. “I offered to stay on a little longer to train my replacement and ensure no harm came to projects we had already started. They didn’t let me because I am associated with Sa’ar, the previous minister, but at the same time, they also haven’t filled some of the roles that I did for several months.

“There are some senior civil servants who sign 4+4 contracts. After four years, they can have their contract extended by another four years. These are good employees, but they are not offered a contract extension. Meanwhile, we hear they are being looked into, so make sure they aren’t ‘leftists’ or identified with Sa’ar. On the other hand, they can’t be fired without a hearing – and what could be said officially against them in the hearing? Their direct superiors commend them, so what professional reason can be given to fire them?”

It sounds like the system is to “straighten people out” by leaving them dangling in the air.

“Correct. As Justice Minister [2019-2020], Amir Ohana used to appoint acting officials because that gave the minister more control over the officials who wanted to please him and get a permanent position. I don’t know if Levin has adopted a similar policy or whether he’s just not interested in what’s happening. Either way, when there are unfilled positions, the ministry provides inferior service to the public.”

According to an analysis conducted by Shomrim, which examined the reports issued by the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, there has been a 40 percent decrease in bribery and corruption cases identified by authorities since 2020, when 14.1 percent of all crime was related to corruption, compared to 8.7 percent in 2021. It is highly doubtful, however, that this reflects a decrease in corruption.

Itamar Donenfeld, Justice Ministry Director-General, was Levin’s political adviser for several years and, when Levin was appointed Knesset speaker, was deputy director general of the Knesset. “This is the first time that the director general of the Justice Ministry is not a jurist,” says one ministry official, “which means that he cannot chair committees that demand legal training. The lack of legal understanding is a significant limitation in a ministry like this, which has 40 sub-departments that are less well-known to the public, but demand a high level of professionalism. If he had proven managerial experience, it might make up for it, but he does not have that either. It’s possible that he safeguards the minister’s interests very well, but beyond that, his presence at the ministry is not particularly felt.” The spokesperson for the Justice Ministry did not reply when asked by Shomrim what the director general has advanced since he was appointed and how he responds to criticism of the fact that he is not a jurist.

Another branch of the Justice Ministry that is experiencing a downturn in activity is the State Attorney’s Office. State Prosecutor Amit Eisman, who maintains a very low media profile, is not present in the ministry daily. Since he lives in Haifa, he spends some of the time at the State Attorney’s Office in that city, and when Baharav-Miara is present, and some meetings require them both to attend, he travels to Tel Aviv.

The State Attorney’s Offices argues that this is merely an efficient use of time – fewer hours spent in traffic and more meetings over Zoom –but officials claim that it is part of the overall disintegration. Part of this dissolution is not blamed on Levin directly but on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial.

“The personal attacks against attorneys and police officers have created a lack of initiative,” says one person who knows the issue up close. “There are no investigations into large, nationwide corruption cases. How many people have been questioned under caution over breach of trust or bribery by the Lahav 433 crime-fighting unit, accompanied by the State Attorney? Close to zero. People ask themselves what they need this headache for.” Shomrim asked the Justice Ministry about the exact number of investigations but was referred to the Israel Police, which did not respond.

According to an analysis conducted by Shomrim, which examined the reports issued by the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, there has been a 40 percent decrease in bribery and corruption cases identified by authorities since 2020, when 14.1 percent of all crime was related to corruption, compared to 8.7 percent in 2021. It is highly doubtful, however, that this reflects a decrease in corruption. It makes much more sense that there is less and less incentive to expose such corruption. All we can do is wait, without much optimism, to see whether the 2022 report follows a similar trend.

One way or another, this is another example of the consequences of a weakened legal system on the verge of collapse.