Top cop nominee’s company said to have won insider contracts

In another blow to Gal Hirsch’s bid to be the next chief of the Israel Police, Channel 2 on Wednesday reported a possible instance of corruption linked to the former IDF general’s company involving a project to clear ordnance from a former military zone in the coastal town of Rishon Lezion.

According to the report, Hirsch’s company, Defensive Shield, was awarded a multi-million-shekel deal to clear mines and unexploded ordnance from a beach in the central Israel town of Rishon Lezion in 2012. Despite the fact that Defensive Shield had no prior experience with such operations, and that its main competitor for the projects had vast experience in mine-clearing operations and submitted a price quote of half the size, Rishon Lezion’s city hall gave Hirsch’s company the contract.

Limor Barzilai, the woman in charge of managing the municipality’s projects, subsequently worked as a strategic adviser to Hirsch, raising grave suspicions about the deals, Channel 2 reported.

In the end, Defensive Shield subcontracted a former IDF chief demolitions officer whose company had been ruled out by Rishon Lezion city hall. It was also awarded a second project, without contract, to construct a fence along the beach. The two projects earned Defensive Shield a total of NIS 7.5 million, the report said.

Since the announcement of his nomination last month, Hirsch’s appointment has been fraught with controversy. Hebrew media reported that Defensive Shield may have been involved in deals with the Georgian government, signed by a defense minister who has by now fled Georgia and who stands accused of fraud and misappropriation of state money, including through deals with Hirsch’s company.

Separately, it was reported that the FBI is conducting a fraud investigation into companies that had dealings with Defensive Shield.

Barzilai, the head of the project at Rishon Lezion city hall, claimed that the decision to hire Hirsch’s company was made in consultation with the attorney general, Defense Ministry and Israeli government. Officials at the Defense Ministry, however, denied that claim, saying the ministry wasn’t involved in choosing the company for the project. The attorney general’s office issued a similar response.

In a telephone interview with Channel 2, Barzilai initially denied knowing Hirsch, despite recently identifying herself as his adviser and fielding questions from reporters on his behalf in recent weeks.

Defensive Shield said in a response that it was awarded the project in Rishon Lezion legally and that Barzilai “wasn’t and isn’t a strategic adviser to the company or Hirsch.”

“Hirsch knew Barzilai in later stages of implementing the project at the site,” it told Channel 2 in a statement. Barzilai’s lawyer contended the same — that Hirsch and Barzilai only met toward the end of the project and that Hirsch wasn’t closely involved.

Rishon Lezion city hall likewise denied any wrongdoing in the selection of Defensive Shield for the projects.