Dr. Matan Gutman, a specialist in administrative and public law, criticised Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Thursday for refusing to appear before the judges hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial. In an interview with Itamar Fleischman and Guy Busi, Gutman said that in her position, he would have accepted the judges' request and come to hear what they had to say, even if he disagreed with them.
"It's possible she believes that doing so would cast aspersions on the prosecutors," Gutman said, attempting to explain the reasoning behind the Attorney General's decision not to attend.
Still, Gutman made clear that even if appearing before the judges would not have led to an immediate resolution of the disputes, he believes it would have been right for her to come and listen.
"I don't think that if she comes, anything will actually be resolved on the spot, but she could have come, been polite, and said 'I hear you and I don't agree,'" he explained.
Gutman went on to describe how he would have acted if he were serving as Attorney General himself, emphasising that simply attending a meeting does not require accepting the judges' position.
"If I were the Attorney General, I would come, listen, and if I thought the points were correct, I would accept them. If I thought they weren't correct, I would tell them no, I don't agree with what you're saying," he said.
But Gutman's criticism did not stop at Baharav-Miara's decision not to appear before the judges. During the interview, he also addressed the prosecution's handling of the bribery charge against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
According to Gutman, the judges have already expressed their view twice that the prosecution should consider withdrawing the bribery charge, yet the prosecution continues to stand by the indictment.
