Tali Gottlieb Says She Will Not Back Down on Immunity Vote and Slams Attorney General

Likud MK Tali Gottlieb went on Dana Varon’s morning program on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s critical Knesset vote on whether to grant her immunity. She sharply attacked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, urged coalition lawmakers to stand with her, and said she is not asking for procedural immunity but for substantive protection against what she describes as political persecution.

Gottlieb said, “Miaרה is chasing me, she is chasing all of us,” and claimed the attorney general is conducting the hearings at an unacceptable legal level. Referring to the Knesset committee discussions, she said she brings facts “that no one wants to touch,” and mocked Baharav-Miara for reading from “a page and a half.” In Gottlieb’s words, “I cannot understand how she heads the criminal prosecution system and is reading from a page and a half. You cannot speak? What are you doing? That was the legal level, and I felt I had no chance.”

She also accused Baharav-Miara of appearing in previous sessions with an earpiece, saying she noticed it during the two prior meetings and later heard her tell Deputy State Attorney Altmann that “I am not coming next time.” Gottlieb said the attorney general eventually sent a letter saying she would not attend the hearing, without what Gottlieb considered a real excuse.

Turning to her political future, Gottlieb said anyone in the coalition who votes against her immunity is not fit to serve in the Knesset. She stressed that immunity exists to protect lawmakers from bureaucrats so they can do their work. She also said she remains loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposed canceling Likud primaries, and rejected the idea that Netanyahu fears strong people around him. Asked about a possible future role as justice minister, she replied, “I do not cling to a seat that is not mine,” though she added that if invited, she could “produce victory pictures.”