Former Tel Aviv commander tapped as next Israel Police chief

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan announced on Friday the nomination of Moshe Edri, the director general of his ministry, to be the next commissioner of the Israel Police.

In a statement, Erdan praised Edri’s “impressive and proven command abilities” as well as his “many years of experience in a variety of roles in the Israel Police and his expertise regarding the challenges facing the police in the coming years.”

Edri, 51, a former commander of the Israel Police’s Tel Aviv and Jerusalem districts, beat out Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevi, who was considered the front-runner for the position, and current Tel Aviv police chief David Bitan.

Erdan also predicted that Edri’s experience and qualifications would help him to “strengthen the public’s faith” in the force.

The announcement came hours after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ruled that there was no legal impediment to proceeding with the appointment of a replacement for Roni Alsheich, despite the existence of a police document said to contain sensitive and “embarrassing” information about Edri and Halevi.

The document, which Hadashot TV news and the Haaretz newspaper said was provided to Mandelblit by Alsheich, reportedly detailed problematic conduct by Halevi, and related to a polygraph test he took in March.

The document was drafted by police legal council Ayelet Elisher and police said it was handed over to Mandelblit as demanded by law.

A senior judicial official told Hadashot that the document contained information that amounted to no more than “gossip and hearsay.”

Edri’s appointment still needs to be approved by a vetting committee, as well as the cabinet.

Alsheich is to end his term in December after four years in office. Erdan, who has clashed with the outgoing commissioner, declined to extend his tenure by an additional year.

On Friday, Alsheich congratulated Edri for his appointment and vowed to assist him in any way possible.

Erdan was originally required to provide the vetting committee with the name of his preferred candidate by Thursday, but delayed due to the document.

The nomination process has faced several obstacles.

The High Court of Justice in September ordered a freeze on all proceedings of the four-person committee that vets candidates for senior public service positions, due to possible conflicts of interest by two of its members. The two later resigned their positions and were replaced, putting the nomination process for the next police commissioner and IDF chief of staff back on track.

Also in September media reports surfaced that Halevi had performed poorly in polygraph tests meant to vet the candidates for the top job. The purported leaks raised speculation that Alsheich was looking to torpedo Halevi’s candidacy, though the police chief strongly denied the claims.