Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel SmotrichHillel Maeir/TPS

MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) on Thursday night strongly criticized the decision of the Advisory Committee for the Appointment of Senior Officials not to recommend Moshe (Chico) Edri to the post of Police Commissioner, and called on the Minister of Public Security to bring the appointment to the cabinet for approval.

"I do not know Chico Edri and I do not know if he's fit for the post of commissioner, but the Committee for the Appointment of Senior Officials is a stupid and superfluous body that has inflated itself into monstrous proportions," Smotrich said.

"Netanyahu, as usual, does not have the courage for strategic moves such as canceling it and taking responsibility for the appointments, and therefore we are likely to have many such sagas. good luck to us," he added.

Smotrich urged Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to stand behind the appointment.

"If Minister Gilad Erdan is convinced that Edri is the most suitable candidate for the job, I call on him to ignore the committee's recommendations and to bring the appointment to the cabinet for approval immediately," he said. “There is no authority without responsibility and no responsibility without authority."

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) also reacted to the decision of the committee to disqualify Edri.

"The police commissioner is appointed by the government at the recommendation of the Minister of Public Security and not two members of the Goldberg Committee. The opinion of the other two members of the committee [who approved Edri's appointment] is simple and reasonable," Shaked said.

"It is impossible to appoint a police commissioner as a constraint and not to make the best choice because of the appearance of some meeting. Edri is an outstanding officer. No one is perfect. The government should appoint the most suitable candidate," she added.

The committee decided to reject Edri after two of its members voted in favor of the appointment, while the other two - including the chairman of the committee, former Justice Eliezer Goldberg - voted against it. In the case of a tie, the chairman of the committee receives a decisive vote and therefore it was decided not to recommend Edri’s appointment.

Erdan announced that he does not accept the position of the committee in light of the tie.

He noted that the committee's reasoning failed to establish a lack of “normative values” or lack of integrity in Edri's behavior, and that there are no reasons to prevent the appointment of Edri as Police Commissioner. Erdan said he will ask to appear before the committee and present his arguments.

Until another decision is made, Erdan announced that he would appoint a replacement for the Police Commissioner in the near future.