נחי אייל
נחי איילצילום: מרים צחי

Nachi Eyal, founder of the "Believers in the Police" program, tells Arutz Sheva he is convinced that even after the era of police commissioner Roni Alshich, the police will be headed by kippa-wearing chiefs.

"Over the course of the program's existence, more than 100 policemen have been recruited to the police. Some of them already serve as officers and some are in the course and assigned to be in command positions.

"I expect that in the future religious Zionism will be an integral part of the ranks of the Israel Police and in any event the chances of grooming police officers to senior positions in the sector will grow. A religious officer already serves as commander of the Tel Aviv district and the more people there are in the system, the more likely they are to advance to command and officer positions," he adds.

According to Eyal, there is great significance to the integration of religious people into the Israel Police, "We saw the two evacuations in Amona. In the first one we all remember the violence and the casualties," says Eyal, "and in the second evacuation we saw signs that read: 'The policemen are our brothers and if you intend to harm them, you will leave the place.' There was no violence.

"In the settlements, too, they know how to embrace the policemen, and after many years there's also a religious Zionist rabbi, Rabbi Rami Brecyahu, who once served as head of the Police Believer's program. This also spurs more and more religious policemen who can serve in the field and receive support and accompaniment for all their needs," concludes Eyal.