Even after the dismissal: the state continues to fund the defense of the former military advocate general
The Professors' Circle for National Resilience petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding to stop the funding of the legal defense of the dismissed military advocate general, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, through reserve attorneys, and to return funds already spent. The IDF admits it does not know how much the funding costs. The petition raises questions of legality, transparency, and equality.
The Professors' Circle for National Resilience petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding an immediate halt to the funding of the legal defense of the dismissed military advocate general, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, through reserve attorneys, and even to return to the public coffers funds already spent. The petition relies on the IDF's response, according to which Tomer-Yerushalmi continues to be represented by attorneys in active reserve service who are compensated with public funds, but the IDF claims that "we have no information regarding the total amounts of reserve compensation." The petitioners call the continued funding a "blank check" and argue that it is done without authority, harms the principle of equality, and undermines public trust. They seek an immediate interim order to stop the funding until a decision on the petition. The petition also raises a claim of preferential treatment, dubbed a "VIP track," according to which a "private and expensive defense battery" of senior reserve attorneys was made available to Tomer-Yerushalmi, while junior soldiers must make do with limited representation. The petitioners demand that the criteria for providing publicly funded representation be disclosed and that uniform rules be established. The background to the petition is the affair of the leak of the video from Sde Teiman, following which Tomer-Yerushalmi was dismissed.