Shin Bet Case Against Tali Gottlieb Moves Forward

Defense Minister Israel Katz has signed a certificate of confidentiality that clears the way for Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to file an indictment against Likud MK Tali Gottlieb, Hebrew media reported Friday.

Gottlieb is expected to be charged over allegations that she violated the Shin Bet law by publicly disclosing the identity of a security service agent. The case had reportedly been ready for nine months, but could not move forward without Katz signing the confidentiality document required in cases involving classified or sensitive evidence.

According to Ynet and Kan, Katz had refused for months to sign the certificate. He reportedly did so Thursday after the Shin Bet warned that failure to approve the confidentiality request could harm national security.

In an April 20 letter, the Shin Bet said its director, David Zini, had conducted an additional review of the materials in the case and concluded that national security considerations required parts of the investigative file to remain classified. A partially redacted version of the letter was obtained by Hebrew media outlets.

Ynet also reported that Baharav-Miara warned Katz that deliberately delaying the filing of an indictment against Gottlieb would be illegal.

Gottlieb was summoned twice for police questioning in the case but refused to appear, arguing that her actions were protected by parliamentary immunity. Prosecutors therefore prepared the indictment without her testimony.

The case stems from a January 2024 social media post in which Gottlieb wrote that the partner of Shikma Bressler, a leading figure in the protest movement against the government’s judicial overhaul, was a Shin Bet agent. The 2002 Shin Bet law prohibits revealing the identity of a service agent.

Gottlieb has maintained that her actions fall under her immunity as a member of Knesset. Critics argue that disclosing the identity of a Shin Bet agent is not part of a lawmaker’s official duties and is therefore not covered by substantive parliamentary immunity.

Israeli lawmakers have two forms of immunity: substantive immunity for actions directly connected to their parliamentary work, particularly speech, and procedural immunity, which can protect MKs from trial while in office but must be actively granted by the Knesset.

Gottlieb reacted angrily to Katz’s decision, accusing him of surrendering to senior legal and security officials.

“Katz made a fatal mistake yesterday and surrendered to the senior bureaucracy that is weakening the government and persecuting the right,” she said. “This is bitterly disappointing, and has proven that another minister is incapable of governing.”

Since entering the Knesset in 2022, Gottlieb has become one of Likud’s most combative lawmakers, frequently making incendiary claims against protest leaders, the IDF and the Shin Bet.