The IDF's new chief lawyer, Itay Offir, was sworn in on Thursday and given the rank of major-general in a closed ceremony.
The Jerusalem Post was the first to report when the ceremony would be held and that it would be closed.
At the ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz made it clear that he views Offir’s role as being to fire other top legal officials, subdue the legal division from interference with any government or commanders’ policies, and close the Sde Teiman, the alleged beating of a Palestinian detainee, case.
Katz repeated that the Sdei Teiman case and the leaking of a video relating to it by Offir’s predecessor, Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, was a terrible "blood libel."
In contrast, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said that he expected Offir to defend soldiers from wrongful allegations but also to uphold the IDF's values, including following rules that limit the use of force.
Zamir made no comments about closing the case but did call on Offir to do whatever is needed to restore public faith in the IDF legal division, leaving that question more open-ended.
In his first official speech, Offir steered clear of the controversy, saying only that he would uphold the law, wherever that would take him.
Swearing-in ceremonies are usually large, celebratory affairs
Typically, the swearing-in of top officials joining the IDF high command are large celebratory events with significant media coverage.
However, given the circumstances of Offir taking office in the shadow of the resignation of his predecessor, Tomer-Yerushalmi, under the cloud of a criminal probe, the IDF has decided to keep the ceremony closed and has not even issued a public announcement to date.
Offir officially started working on Monday, but formally takes office on Thursday with his swearing-in.
Besides generally wanting to attract less media attention for the legal division, the IDF may not want to highlight the fact that not only Tomer-Yerushalmi but also several other top IDF legal officials are under criminal investigation and will be absent from the ceremony, though they would normally be attending.
Finally, the IDF may be concerned that its legal officials could face questions from the media and may even make comments, unintentionally, which could impact the many cases currently surrounding its legal division, including the trial of five IDF soldiers for allegedly sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Sdei Teiman.
Katz had surprised the legal community on November 4 by announcing Offir, the former defense ministry chief legal advisor, as the next IDF chief lawyer, following Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation after she allegedly admitted to illegally leaking a video relating to the Sdei Teiman case.
The defense minister said it was critical to have an outsider run the IDF’s legal division, given that Tomer-Yerushalmi, as well as several other senior legal officials, have been implicated in alleged illegal handling of the video incident, including former IDF chief prosecutor Matan Solomesh.
Setting a start date could end the speculation that has surrounded the appointment since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Katz for not consulting him, and Netanyahu’s son, Yair, attacked Offir on social media for various actions or decisions that he thought did not equate with a card-carrying right-wing ideology.
Offir was a surprising choice because he has no experience in the area of criminal law and will be expected to handle aspects of the sensitive Sdei Teiman abuse and leak cases.
The IDF chief lawyer is also the lead official dealing with potential war crime allegations from the International Criminal Court, an area where he has little expertise.
In support of Offir, significant aspects of the role do involve legal advice relating to defense issues, which he has high familiarity with from his 2017-2024 tenure as chief legal adviser.
On November 4, Zamir did not initially recommend him, which seemed strange given that he has the authority to recommend a candidate to Katz, who could then accept or deny his suggestion.
However, IDF sources then told the Post that Offir was indeed one of the names that Zamir had passed on to Katz as a possible candidate, and given that he was director-general of the defense ministry for 2023-2024, overlapping with Offir, he had significant familiarity with him.
But it turned out Zamir had not responded because Katz decided to announce, informing him.
The three leading candidates mentioned until then had all spent time serving in the IDF’s legal division in the past but had not served there recently.
This was viewed as a positive combination of being more familiar with the work than a candidate like Offir, but being separate enough from Tomer-Yerushalmi.
For example, the lead candidate had appeared to be Brig.-Gen. (res.) Doron Ben Barak, who had previously served in the legal division but then served outside as the IDF chief censor and has been out of the military in recent years.
Offir served in the Givati Brigade as a combat fighter and later became a lawyer.
He worked in the private sector at the top New York law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, as well as the top Tel Aviv firm Tadmor-Levy, before later joining the defense ministry.
He was also approved as a potential candidate for attorney-general in the most recent race for the post, though Gali Baharav-Miara was ultimately selected.
On major policy issues, he reportedly has helped, over the years, try to work out compromises between the government and haredim over IDF draft issues, as well as with the settler movement over localized expansions of Jewish West Bank areas.
He also supported the right of former defense minister Benny Gantz to appoint a new IDF chief (former IDF chief Herzi Halevi) despite impending elections and helped transfer certain complex authorities regarding the West Bank from then- defense minister Yoav Gallant over to Religious Zionist party leader Betzalel Smotrich to fulfill various coalition agreements.
Most of the responses to Offir’s appointment were positive, including from opposition party official Gantz.