The Law Enforcement System in Bankruptcy

In March 2024, attorney Efi Nevo, the former head of the Bar Association, and retired judge Eitan Orenshtein, former president of the Tel Aviv District Court, were detained for questioning on suspicion of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The investigation was opened following a recording of conversations between the two, from which, allegedly, emerges a “give-and-take” negotiation: support for the appointment of Judge Orenshtein as president of the District Court in exchange for removing Judge Dalia Ganot from hearing tort cases in which attorney Nevo’s office is involved. The following are several quotes from the media from these conversations.

Nevo to Orenshtein: “You give only one commitment, you take her (Ganot) out of the tort files, it doesn’t interest me where.” Orenshtein to Nevo: “Efi, I paid the debt, if so... hold on to me,” and the like.

A few months later, Judge Orenshtein announced his early retirement from the bench. It was published in ynet that former Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked submitted an open testimony to the police on the matter— more than two years after the incident! How? I believe that you don’t need to be a legal genius to decide based on these recordings—and perhaps in combination with the testimony of one or two additional witnesses— whether this is a criminal offense of bribery or fraud and breach of trust, or perhaps only jokes that the two exchanged between themselves, and the case is therefore to be closed. However, I cannot fathom why such a fairly simple investigation, even though it concerns senior figures in Israel’s justice system, should take more than two years. And this is not the only example of the ineffectiveness of Israel’s law enforcement system— the police, the prosecution, and the courts— all of them bear joint responsibility for the intolerable state of delay and prolongation of proceedings. And the examples for this are in abundance!

In May 2015, an indictment was filed against the former Tel Aviv district prosecutor, attorney Ruth David, and against attorney Ronal Fisher, in which they were attributed serious offenses such as obstructing the course of justice and receiving assets obtained through crime. It was published in the media that this was “the highest-ranking prosecutor who got entangled in corruption offenses.” In September 2025— ten years after the filing of the indictment— attorney Fisher’s trial ended in a plea agreement. Attorney David’s trial has not yet ended. Unbelievable! And what about the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been ongoing for more than seven years, and it is not clear whether it will end before the coming of the Messiah?

In 2021, a serious indictment was filed against Knesset member David Bitan, in which he is attributed serious offenses of taking bribes, money laundering, and fraud and breach of trust. Bitan’s trial has been ongoing for about five years, and its conclusion is not in sight. And perhaps this is also the place to return to the pages of history and to the investigations that were conducted against Avigdor Lieberman for many years, which came to nothing.

And a final remark: perhaps the man who holds the title of Minister of Justice may be so kind as to stop waging desperate and foolish battles against the Supreme Court, and to direct all his efforts and resources, before he ends his term, to the difficult and real problems of failing law enforcement systems, only some of which were described above.

Amnon Shtrassnov, judge (ret.)