Fifteen Journalists Ask Court to Keep Netanyahu Trial Hearing Open

Fifteen journalists covering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial have asked the Jerusalem District Court to keep open a hearing involving Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The journalists submitted their application through attorney Elad Mann after the judges said they would consider holding a closed session if necessary. The applicants argue that the circumstances provide no legal basis for excluding the public. They invoke repeated court rulings on the importance of public proceedings, asking that the hearing remain accessible as the attorney general appears before the trial panel. On November 12, judges Rivkah Friedman-Feldman, Moshe Bar-Am and Oded Shaham ordered Baharav-Miara to attend the hearing scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, despite her objection. Their order followed requests by defense lawyers Amit Hadad, representing Netanyahu, and Jacques Chen, representing Shaul Elovitch. During the November 11 courtroom exchange, prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh argued that the senior prosecution team could hear the judges’ concerns and relay them to decision-makers. She said requiring the attorney general’s personal attendance conflicted with the prosecution’s working arrangements. Shaham said the judges had also independently considered speaking directly with Baharav-Miara. The requests followed former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit’s defense testimony about the approval of investigative actions, the information presented to him and the documentation of decisions.