Retired Supreme Court justice Asher Grunis will not continue in his post heading the Submarine Affair commission, the Courts Administration announced on Sunday.
Supreme Court President Isaac Amit appointed retired Supreme Court justice Zvi Zylbertal to lead the commission on Sunday. Zylbertal was already one of the five members on it, so former Central District Court President Judge Ruth Lorch was appointed as a commission member.
Grunis, 81, informed Amit on Friday that he will not be able to continue due to medical circumstances that will affect him in the coming months, preventing him from participating in the hearings, which are scheduled throughout the months of November and December.
The commission was established in 2022 to examine how political and professional officials handled decisions concerning submarine and naval vessel purchases between 2009 and 2016. Its mandate also covers plans to privatize naval shipyards and Israel’s consent to Germany selling submarines to a third country.
In January, the commission published its report on systemic failures. This report examined flaws in decision-making and defense purchases – including the political leadership’s failure to set clear policy. It also proposed changes.
Netanyahu, Zamir due to testify in hearings
Now, the commission is due to begin hearing testimony on personal responsibility in the case on November 1. Grunis requested a replacement because postponing the hearings would harm the commission’s work, the announcement said.
The hearings will be behind closed doors and are set to focus on evidence relating to the personal warnings issued by the commission.
The panel includes economist Prof. Karnit Flug, who previously served as the governor of the Bank of Israel, Gideon Frank, a former director-general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, and Prof. Jacob Bortman, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).
Among those due to testify are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, former president Reuven Rivlin, former defense minister Moshe “Bogi” Ya’alon, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, Navy commander V.-Adm. Eyal Harel, and former Navy commanders Eli Sharvit and Ram Rothberg.
The proceedings center on warnings issued in June 2024 to Netanyahu, Ya’alon, Cohen, Rothberg, and former National Security Council official Avner Simhoni.
The warnings notified them that the commission’s eventual findings could adversely affect them, allowing them to examine evidence and challenge the preliminary conclusions before personal responsibility is determined.
Being summoned as a witness does not mean an official received such a warning.
The hearings allow those facing possible adverse findings to question witnesses and present evidence in their defense; the commission has emphasized that its conclusions could change after that process.
Amit wished to “express deep appreciation” to Grunis “for his dedicated and professional work and important contribution” to the commission since its establishment.
A government decision established the commission on January 23, 2022. Appointments were made later that year, on February 20.
The commission of inquiry is separate from the criminal proceedings known as Case 3000. It examines decision-making and public responsibility surrounding the deals, while the criminal proceedings concern alleged corruption.