EILAT — Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara warned that Israel has entered 'a race to eliminate democratic institutions' during a speech at the Israel Bar Association’s annual conference in Eilat on June 1, 2026. She said the judicial overhaul had entered a more extreme 'second phase,' accelerated by the approaching end of the current Knesset’s term.

Baharav-Miara identified two concerning trends undermining Israel’s democratic framework: the normalization of disobedience to court rulings and the political takeover of law enforcement. She said a series of legislative initiatives, including the attorney-general split bill and the Mahash bill, share the same logic: 'political control over law enforcement bodies and criminal justice.'

The attorney-general split bill, approved for first reading by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in May 2026, would separate the roles of the attorney-general and the chief prosecutor. Baharav-Miara said the measure would 'crush' the professional and independent status of both officials, making them dependent on the political echelon. She warned that the Mahash bill, which received final committee approval on June 1 after a joint Constitution-National Security Committee rejected a revision request, would remove the barrier between the police oversight body and political leadership.

Baharav-Miara said a politicized Mahash would deter police investigators from pursuing cases involving government figures and their associates, while also creating a risk of over-enforcement against groups disliked by the government. She added that citizens would feel the consequences in everyday life, stating, 'Citizens will feel the change in the street, at soccer games, and at protest rallies.'

She emphasized that public-sector lawyers would continue to assist the government in implementing its policies but would also insist on the limits of the law. 'We will not lend a hand to the normalization of violations of court rulings, to the politicization of law enforcement systems, or to harm to the mechanisms of democratic government,' she said.

No independent assessment of Gali Baharav-Miara’s claims was available.