Public Security Minister Avi Dichter announced Sunday night his intention to appoint Prison Services Commissioner Lt. Gen. Yaakov Ganot to replace Moshe Karadi as the next police commissioner. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the decision, while Attorney General Menachem Mazuz expressed some reservations.
In light of the findings of the Zeiler Commission, which decried corruption and negligence among the top ranks of the police department, Minister Dichter also informed the current Deputy Police Commissioner Benny Kaniak that he will be dismissed. Police Maj. Gen. Mickey Levy, who is currently serving as the Israel Police Representative in the US, was tapped by Dichter as the next deputy police commissioner.
Minister Dichter preempted criticism that immediately followed his announcement of the appointment of Lt. Gen. Ganot: "Thirteen years ago, Ganot was tried for a crime of which he was found innocent. There remains a disciplinary stain, but he passed the appointments committee. I considered the issue as part of my overall considerations, knowing the stain on his record and the way in which it was handled."
Ganot faced a series of corruption charges in 1994, including accepting bribes, during his term as northern district police commander. He was found innocent of the charges in Magistrate's Court and the decision was upheld in the Supreme Court.
Minister Dichter said that he had planned to replace the senior officers of the police department for some time before the publication of the Zeiler Commission's findings
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz had earlier expressed reservations about Prison Services Commissioner Ganot's appointment as the nation's premier police officer. In a letter to Minister Dichter last week, Mazuz wrote that there was a serious problem appointing an officer who was cleared of charges against him due to a shadow of doubt and after appealing to the Supreme Court. However, in his letter, Mazuz determined that "there is no legal obstacle" to Ganot's appointment as police commissioner.
Prime Minister Olmert commended Minister Dichter's announcement that he intends to appoint Lt. Gen. Ganot as the next police commissioner and Maj. Gen. Levy as deputy commissioner. In a statement released to the press, the prime minister expressed his confidence "that they will be able to lead the Israel Police to achievements in upholding the rule of law, public order and personal security." In his statement, however, Prime Minister Olmert emphasized that Levy's appointment as Deputy Commissioner was Minister Dichter's decision "and was made without any prior consultation" with the prime minister.
Minister Dichter said that he had planned to replace the senior officers of the police department for some time before the publication of the Zeiler Commission's findings. Several weeks ago, Dichter revealed, he already informed outgoing Police Commissioner Karadi that he was not going to extend his current term. Karadi announced his resignation on Sunday.
"I prepared myself and the police for the moment after the publication of the Zeiler report. The moment after has arrived," Dichter said. "Loyal to my commitments as a minister in the government, the time and imperative to start on a new path have come."
Saying that the Zeiler Commission carried out "in-depth, thorough, professional and brave" work, Dichter explained that in order to carry out the commission's intent and in order to improve the 28,000-person police department, he felt he had to change the commanding officer ranks.