'Feldstein' bill gains committee's approval at Knesset

Several key figures in the security and legal establishment put out critical statements.

By YUVAL BARNEA DECEMBER 1, 2024 14:41 Updated: DECEMBER 1, 2024 16:15

Eli Feldstein, an IDF spokesman attends the funeral of Yehuda Dimentman, in Homesh, in the West Bank, on December 17, 2021 (photo credit: SRAYA DIAMANT/FLASH90)

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a bill proposing immunity for security officials who transfer data to the political echelon, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

The bill was dubbed "Feldstein bill" after the prime suspect in the PMO leaks scandal, Eliezer Feldstein, an aid to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Unapproved transfers of information to the PM are not the only crime Feldstein is under investigation for; he is also under investigation for the unauthorized sending of information to the German newspaper Bild.

Currently, all intelligence must go through a control department in the Military Intelligence Directorate, which was established following the Yom Kippur War.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Memorial Ceremony for people who were murdered during the October 7th Massacre, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, October 28, 2024. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Criticism from the Security Legal spheres

Several key figures in the security and legal establishment put out critical statements.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara announced that she had serious reservations about the bill's legality, "The bill raises serious concerns that this is personal legislation, aimed at improper political intervention in a criminal proceeding concerning the Prime Minister's entourage."

Deputy Prosecutor Gil Lemon sharply criticized the bill, saying, "It stands in complete contradiction to the hierarchical structure, command subordination, and discipline, which are the cornerstones of the security agencies."

He also worried it could lead to an increase in leaks of sensitive material as people at lower levels may feel they need to bypass the existing structures, which disrupts the already existing security system.

Several security officials told Maariv that "The entire bill is the result of a conspiracy; it refers to an event that did not happen."

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Another said, "Those who promote such a law simply do not understand what they are talking about and how the system works. In intelligence, just like in any other body, such as in a bank or the police, there is an orderly mechanism of transferring information from the bottom up. There are information systems that collect and filter intelligence, Thousands of reports and documents, a whole pool of things."

He continued, "There are one or two hundred people who see everything. Things get to the top after filtering, not because of someone's desire to hide information, but according to the assessment of importance. Whether and how critical the issue is to Israel's security, the more critical information, according to the criteria, ultimately reaches the representatives. The intelligence is in the offices of senior officials, including in the prime minister's office."