Vetting committee wrangles over final approval of police chief nominee

After hours of deliberations the four-member panel in charge of vetting nominees for senior state positions had still not decided Thursday night on whether to give its final approval for the appointment of Israel’s next chief of police.

As the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee held its meeting on the future of nominee Moshe Edri, the outgoing Police commissioner Roni Alsheich attended a farewell party at the national police academy in Beit Shemesh.

Speaking to reporters as he headed into the event, Alsheich declared that nothing he had told the panel was likely to be the cause in the delay.

Various reports have claimed that Alsheich has sought to thwart Edri’s nomination over the past few months.

Alsheich will leave his position on Monday and if the panel has still not approved Edri by then, a stand-in will be appointed until the committee makes a final decision.

Earlier the committee members received a State Comptroller report on Edri’s service as the head of the Traffic Department, Hebrew media reported.

On Wednesday Edri underwent a lie-detector test the appointments committee had ordered he take as part of its vetting process, due to the sensitive nature of the commissioner position, the fact that there were complaints against him regarding unspecified inappropriate behavior, and the fact that other contenders for the job had already undergone the test.

Edri, the current director general of the Public Security Ministry and a former police commander of the districts of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was nominated earlier this month by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

The committee has held several discussions on Edri’s appointment and interviewed Erdan, Alsheich, and Edri himself.

After it called on the public to submit information that could help in the vetting of Edri’s candidacy, the committee said it had received many responses, mostly supportive. However, some members of the public complained about “inappropriate behavior,” it said, without elaborating.

A report last week by the Kan public broadcaster said one of the complaints involved alleged behavior that has in the past caused other police officers to be dismissed. Other complaints said Edri was in conflict of interest due to ties to business people that he didn’t report.

LGBT rights groups had slammed Edri’s nomination in light of a deadly stabbing at the Jerusalem pride parade that took place when the nominee was the city’s top officer.

Edri received a reprimand over the 2015 attack, in which ultra-Orthodox extremist Yishai Schlissel stabbed to death 16-year-old Shira Banki and wounded five others.

Edri’s nomination drew widespread praise from politicians in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a “fitting appointment” and called the nominee a “good and experienced officer.”

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