The Knesset plenum approved MK Tali Gottlieb’s request for parliamentary immunity on Wednesday morning, blocking her criminal prosecution until the current Knesset term ends. The move follows Tuesday’s vote in the Knesset House Committee, which backed the request by 11 votes to 3. Gottlieb, from Likud, had been indicted for revealing the identity of a Shin Bet officer, an offense under the Shin Bet Law carrying a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
According to the indictment, Gottlieb published the officer’s identity and details on X, including by reposting material from the site "Edna Karnaval." The officer was the partner of protest activist Shikma Bresler. The post reportedly received more than 400,000 views. The indictment says that on January 24, 2024, she published the officer’s full name and personal details, along with the full name of his partner.
During the heated plenum debate, United Torah Judaism faction chair MK Uri Maklev launched a sharp attack on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Saying he would oppose lifting immunity "with a clear conscience," he accused her of using her office for evil. "She sold her position to evil and wickedness," Maklev said, adding that she was harming the role and status of the legal adviser. He compared the case to the historic Kastner trial, saying the accuser had become the accused.
Maklev also argued that while the attorney general pursues elected officials, other serious matters remain untouched for months. He said the Gottlieb case had effectively turned into a public indictment of the attorney general herself. Gottlieb, for her part, told the committee that she exposed Bresler’s partner as a Shin Bet officer to show that "there was a mutiny and a coup on the head of the prime minister." Baharav-Miara opposed the immunity request and told committee members that "there is a blatant violation of the law."
