Outgoing police chief: I’m leaving role with ‘uneasy feeling’ over politicization
Police Commissioner Shabtai had rocky relationship with far-right minister Ben Gvir throughout tenure; AG has raised concerns over successor Avshalom Peled
Outgoing Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai, during his farewell ceremony on Sunday, urged against making the law enforcement body political, alluding to the behavior of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir without directly naming him.
Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police, was not invited to the ceremony. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to send prerecorded video comments.
“We must not make the police political — that is how we lose public legitimacy and lose our right to exist,” Shabtai said in his speech, addressing it to the officers in attendance, Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog, who made similar comments earlier at the ceremony. “We are a professional body whose job is to protect citizens’ wellbeing and safety. Don’t harm the police, and leave it outside the political dialogue. This dialogue weakens the organization and will harm its ability to accomplish its goals.”
Shabtai, who served in the police for 39 years, including the last three and a half years as commissioner, said his period leading the organization “was characterized by great tension” on the political front, “certainly for me, as the one who leads the Israel Police.”
The outgoing chief said he is stepping down from his role “with an uneasy feeling. The fight against the politicization of the police and its deviation from its professional path is in full swing.”
Similar comments calling to keep the police apolitical were made by Herzog and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who were both in attendance.
“It is important to me to clarify and emphasize that the police force does not belong and will not belong to any one person. The police is not tied to any political side,” Herzog said. “The police must belong to all of us… I ask and call on all political officials — leave the police outside of politics.”
Shabtai and Ben Gvir clashed repeatedly once the minister took up his position and attempted to exert much greater control over the police, including how officers responded to different types of demonstrations.
Before becoming a minister, Shabtai had accused Ben Gvir of instigating the unprecedented violence between Jewish and Arab Israelis during Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021.
Baharav-Miara has raised concerns over Ben Gvir’s pick for the next chief of police, Avshalom Peled, citing a 2015 criminal investigation into Peled that resulted in disciplinary measures, though no charges.
Shabtai also spoke of his role in the 2021 Mount Meron disaster in which 45 people were killed during a stampede.
“The Meron disaster is scarring, painful and difficult. I have lost sleep over it ever since that tragic night. I carry in my heart the pain and the loss of the families and the need to ensure such a thing won’t happen again,” he said. “As police commissioner, I take full responsibility for what happened on my watch.”
Regarding Israel police’s conduct during the October 7 massacre, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 251, Shabtai said, “The Israel Police were discovered in all their glory. The police, border police led by the southern district commander were the first to protect southern residents from Hamas’s cruel terror attack. They’re the ones who blocked the terrorists from entering central Israel, saved lives and fought valiantly.”
The Times of Israel Community.