Police chief Danny Levy has decided to freeze the operations of law enforcement’s Incitement Department, in compliance with a High Court decision handed down yesterday.
The court decision orders a pause to the body’s “proactive monitoring” of specific individuals’ social media activity in order to “discover incitement and speech offenses.”
Levy announces the move in response to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who sent him a letter earlier this month saying the body’s reported activities raise real concern about “unjustified harm to human rights and free expression.”
Earlier this month, a Kan news report claimed that the body’s head, Ch. Supt. Udi Ronen, had urged police officers to send him the names of people who “interest or concern” them, with the goal of monitoring their social media and potentially launching investigations.
The Incitement Department was established in January by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who appointed Ronen and subordinated him to the deputy police chief.
Previously, officers in the police’s investigations and intelligence division, led by Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt, handled such cases.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 30, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
