Despite deal with AG, Ben Gvir denies ceding power over police promotions
‘I appoint, I’m the one who approves,’ national security minister maintains, appearing to backpedal after agreeing to curb his meddling in police appointments
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday denied ceding authority to appoint and promote police officers, a week after reaching a compromise with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that obliges him to scale back his involvement in such matters.
“For [police] appointments, the authority remains with me,” he told Army Radio. “I appoint, I am the one who approves. They hate me because I brought 800 interviews to my ministry, since I appoint each one. I interview him, I vet him.”
The deal aimed to curb the far-right leader’s interference in operational police matters, specifically when it comes to appointing and promoting cops.
The attorney general demanded Ben Gvir accept the restrictions before she agreed to defend him in the High Court of Justice against petitions calling for his dismissal.
The four petitions were supposed to be heard on Tuesday, but the court canceled the hearing a day prior in light of the compromise, requesting that Baharav-Miara update judges on the deal’s status by July 15.
The compromise barred Ben Gvir from interviewing officers up to the rank of superintendent for promotion, distancing him from the promotion process for mid-ranking police amid accusations he was exploiting appointments to advance his political agenda.
But Ben Gvir appeared to backtrack on aspects of the agreement on Tuesday, when he claimed to retain full authority over police appointments, regardless of rank.
“We agreed that I won’t interview officers for the rank of superintendent, but I did not give up authority over appointments,” he said.
While the police minister’s formal approval is required for the promotion of high-ranking officers (chief superintendent or above), Ben Gvir’s predecessors in the role rarely intervened in the process, which is supposed to begin with a recommendation from the relevant commanding officer.
The minister’s approval is not required for promotions to the rank of superintendent.
Under the agreement with the attorney general, Ben Gvir is permitted to hold interviews for the promotion of high-ranking police — those holding the ranks of chief superintendent and commander — but only while in the presence of a senior official in the police’s human resources division.
It also forbade him from conducting any interview without the prior recommendation of the police chief and a panel of senior cops.
Ben Gvir’s habit of interviewing candidates for promotion was unprecedented when he first assumed office in 2023. Critics have claimed that the minister’s involvement was politicizing police decision-making.
The attorney general has accused the minister of using his authority in a manner that constitutes “illegitimate intervention” in the force.
Though the police are expected to be a professional, nonpolitical organization, the relationship between the national security minister — a political appointee — and the police commissioner is largely informal, meaning there are very few checks on the minister’s power.
This has granted the far-right politician vast discretion in pushing the limits of the force, using the possibility of a promotion as a carrot-and-stick to influence cops’ decision-making.
Earlier this year, Ben Gvir boasted that he offers promotions to police officers only if he is convinced they will implement his policies, including “compassion for right-wing activists” and the destruction of “entire villages” illegally built by Bedouins on state land in the Negev.
The Times of Israel Community.