It’s not you, it’s Israel

Shortly after Israel concluded its Yom Kippur holiday, the prime minister and public security minister appeared to have one big regret — namely, the latter’s controversial pick for police commissioner. Their decision to drop Gal Hirsch, bringing a heated public debate to a close, dominates headlines in all three national dailies on Thursday, after a month that saw extensive media coverage and recriminations against him.

“The capitulation,” reads Yedioth Ahronoth’s dramatic headline with photos of Erdan and Hirsch splashed over a red background.

“The end of this story was known from nearly the first moment. And indeed, the saga of Gal Hirsch’s appointment to cop no. 1, which included an outcry at the announcement, a rebellion by former cops, the rage of bereaved families, legal investigations, and stubborn insistence on the part of the candidate but mostly on the part of the minister who appointed him — yesterday came to an end with an embarrassing capitulation,” Yedioth reports.

Veteran columnist Nahum Barnea praises the decision as “correct and justified” but takes Hirsch to task for accepting the post to begin with, and Netanyahu and Erdan for claiming that his candidacy was withdrawn due to the “libel and rumors” about Hirsch.

If the former IDF commander wanted to clean up his dubious reputation for his conduct during the Second Lebanon War, he simply should have rejected the coveted position, writes Barnea. “Everyone would have praised Hirsch for his integrity, for his modesty. The circle that began in 2006 would finally come to a close.”

“But Gal Hirsch is Gal Hirsch, he said yes, and stubbornly stuck to it and fought for the position, even as for weeks it was clear he would not be able to get it,” he continues.

“Netanyahu and Erdan were forced to withdraw the nomination, not because of the allegations, not because of the length of the probe. They were forced to back down, because they understood, quite belatedly, that a police commissioner can be an arms dealer, but an arms dealer can’t be a police commissioner,” writes Barnea, referencing one of the many allegations against Hirsch. “Working in that field leaves behind too many stains. Even if Hirsch himself was clean and innocent, and I don’t know of any fact that proves otherwise, the rules of the corporate world that he entered clash with the role of the person responsible for law enforcement in the State of Israel.”

Meanwhile, in Israel Hayom, columnist Dan Margalit criticizes Erdan for his lack of foresight.

Erdan “didn’t establish or publicize criteria that would define which characteristics are essential to be considered for the police commissioner and he didn’t announce his choice to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein in advance.”

“Hirsch paid a price for a crime he didn’t commit. He is not yet ready to be police commissioner. Erdan should have appointed him to the police force in a [lower level] training position,” writes Margalit.

Over in Haaretz, the daily has choice words for Netanyahu and Erdan in three separate op-eds.

“Netanyahu and Erdan blocked Hirsch’s appointment on the night after Yom Kippur. In their announcement, especially that of the prime minister, there were no signs of introspection, of taking responsibility,” writes Yossi Verter. “The opposite: They preferred beating the breast of the entire world and his wife: the media, the judiciary, the ‘process.’ There was a lot of whining to cover up the inescapable fact: that they are the sole ones responsible for this farce and the disgrace of Hirsch (even though he should have reached this conclusion a long time ago.)”

Haaretz also tackles another controversial appointment — that of former Yesha Council leader Dani Dayan as Israel’s ambassador to Brazil. After three former ambassadors contacted Brazilian officials to protest the settler leader’s appointment, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke to his Brazilian counterpart to urge the country to accept Israel’s pick for the job, it reports.

Meanwhile, columnist Ari Shavit graciously sings Dayan’s praises and slams the ex-envoys for attempting to discredit him.

Dayan is an “ethical, intelligent, cultured, and impressive man,” he writes. “His Zionism is deep and not inflammatory… It is a pleasure to disagree with him, a pleasure to argue with him, a pleasure to hold a discussion with him.”

Since Netanyahu’s government was democratically elected, “it is its right to appoint envoys who will represent its worldview. These ambassadors aren’t supposed to come from [NGOs] B’tselem or Breaking the Silence or from Haaretz. It is natural and fitting that these will be right-wingers who believe in continuing the occupation and the settlements, and other ideas that make my stomach churn and tear at my heart. Because my stomach, my heart, are of no interest. I didn’t win the election. The winners, however, who received the mandate to form a government, have the right and ought to appoint the envoys who loyally represent its path.”