Today on Lawfare: June 4, 2025

From The Lawfare Editorial Team

Compiled by Olivia Manes

Articles

Israel’s Shin Bet Saga, Continued

Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany outlined the most recent developments in the ongoing dispute between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the High Court of Justice over the government’s decision to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). Cohen and Shany explained that the Court’s judgement that the dismissal was unlawful despite Bar’s recent resignation—and Netanyahu’s subsequent announcement of a new Shin Bet head—place Israel’s judicial system and government on a potential collision course, risking a constitutional crisis.

The ongoing legal and political battle surrounding the identity of the head of the Shin Bet is really a battle over the professional independence of the agency from political interference. The HCJ and Israel’s attorney general have both taken a clear stance on the matter, acting to block the prime minister from politicizing the office of the head of the Shin Bet and transforming it into a position of loyalty. Still, by appearing to ignore their positions and pushing for the appointment of General Zini—despite the prime minister's personal conflict of interest—Netanyahu has demonstrated an appetite for exacerbating Israel’s legal and political crisis. Indeed, Bar’s dismissal saga appears to be part of a larger plan to undermine the independence of democratic gatekeepers in Israel, including the attorney general. There is a possibility that in the near future, the very authority of the Court to block appointments could be put into question—heralding a full-fledged constitutional crisis, in which competing claims of public authority are raised by the government and the legal system.

U.S. Funding Cuts Risk Jeopardizing Counter-Islamic State Operations

Devorah Margolin examined how recent funding cuts, including the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, risk undermining efforts to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Margolin explained that the funding freeze affects a central element of the mission—preventing a new generation of Islamic State militants—with implications for the operation of detention centers and repatriation and reintegration efforts.

There is no question that the U.S. has shouldered the bulk of the military and financial responsibility for the ever-evolving counter-Islamic State mission in the Middle East. Yet the counter-Islamic State mission today is not limited to kinetic counter-terrorism alone; it seeks to combat the “Islamic State at large,” “Islamic State in detention,” and “Islamic State the next generation.” Thus, U.S. cuts to programs focusing on “Islamic State the next generation” (specifically Al-Hol and Roj detention camps), without proper consideration of how to fill these gaps, prove highly problematic. The deprioritization of countering the next Islamic State generation, while cost-saving in the short term, will be detrimental in the long term—affecting the stability of Syria and posing far-reaching consequences for repatriation and reintegration of detained individuals.

Tackling the Proliferation of Cyber Intrusion Capabilities

Alexandra Paulus explained that while the Pall Mall Process—an initiative bringing  together states and non-state actors to address the proliferation of commercial cyber intrusion capabilities—has taken important steps to tackle the problem, it falls short in several key respects. Paulus offered three suggestions moving forward, including broadening the initiative’s scope, ensuring implementation through accountability mechanisms, and developing a code of practice for industry.

At the same time, the framing of the Pall Mall Process remains problematic. While organizers have focused on the “responsible use” of CCICs, the metrics for responsible use remain unclear. Additionally, this approach may, paradoxically, facilitate proliferation (explained below). Finally, it is unclear to what extent government action can meaningfully shape the formal market rather than push it underground.

Podcasts

Lawfare Daily: Democratic Backsliding and the Role of Technology: Quinta Jurecic moderated a panel discussion at Fordham Law School’s Transatlantic AI and Law institute, featuring panelists Joseph Cox, a journalist and co-founder of 404 Media; Orly Lobel, the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and founding director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy (CELP) at the University of San Diego; Aziz Huq, the Frank and Bernice J. Professor at the University of Chicago Law School; and James Grimmelmann, the Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law at Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School. The panel discussed the connection between technology and democratic backsliding, both historically and in the present day.

Rational Security: The “Huffin’ and Puffin’’’ Edition: Scott R. Anderson sat down with Anastasiia Lapatina,  Eric Ciaramella, and Alex Zerden to talk through the week’s big national security and foreign policy news, including the U.S.’s widespread exceptions to Syrian sanctions programs, Ukraine’s drone attack deep into Russian territory over the weekend, and two different federal courts’ decision to enjoin Trump’s tariffs last week.

Videos and Webinars

On June 6 at 4 p.m. ET, Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, and James Pearce to discuss challenges to the Trump administration’s mass reductions in force, litigation over deportations and detentions, and more. If you would like to be able to submit questions to the panelists and watch the livestream without ads, become a material supporter of Lawfare on Substack or Patreon. It will be livestreamed on YouTube for all other viewers. If you can’t attend the live event, the recording will be available immediately afterward on Lawfare’s YouTube channel or later on the Lawfare Podcast feed.

Announcements

The Trials of the Trump Administration, our coverage of President Donald Trump’s executive actions and their legal challenges, has a new homepage. This page includes real-time analysis of the litigation, Lawfare's livestream series, documents related to Trump's actions, and a tracker of the legal challenges against them. Find the page here.

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