Levin on DI Controversy: "The Prosecution Acts Like a Third-World Country"

After it was revealed that the Attorney General and the State Attorney's Office are opposing the establishment of the new DI (Department of Internal Investigations) and are attempting to sabotage the search committee by pressuring candidates, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin harshly criticized the conduct today, Monday: "It is a disgrace and a violation of the law to interfere in the appointment process and deter candidates. They understand that they will lose their grip on the police."

Levin claimed that this conduct is characteristic of third-world countries, noting: "First of all, it is good that this is the situation, otherwise I would worry that we did something wrong. But more seriously — it is a disgrace. It is also illegal; interfering in selection processes and attempting to deter candidates from applying is truly a third-world country practice." The minister added that, in his view, the next head of the DI needs, first and foremost, courage and a willingness to act against the system, and that the pressures currently being applied serve as a test for potential candidates.

The Minister of Justice further claimed that the DI lost public trust long ago, harming vulnerable populations that need its protection and adopting a "double standard" approach in handling complaints against police officers. Levin explained that removing the department from the State Attorney's Office was based on a professional report by an orderly committee, and emphasized:

"All attempts at sabotage stem from only one thing — the desire of the government's legal advisory system and the State Attorney's Office to control this body. They understand well that once this body is out of their control, the lever they have to control the police will also be lost, and the police will be able to return to functioning independently and objectively as it should be."

As previously reported, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and her staff are working to sabotage the establishment of the new DI and are pressuring potential candidates for the search committee not to accept the role. This comes despite the fact that the DI law was approved by the Knesset plenum a few weeks ago. The law determines that the department will leave the State Attorney's Office and be established as an independent body, but without a search committee, the move cannot be implemented.

Meanwhile, earlier today, the Knesset Legal Advisor, Sagit Afik, submitted her opinion regarding the request for interim injunctions that would block the establishment of the department. According to Afik, the court should refrain from issuing orders that would freeze the process of establishing the search committee or the department itself. Although the search committee has not yet been established, the Civil Service Commission has published a call for applications for the position of head of the DI; since no suitable candidate was found by the original deadline, a new deadline for submissions has been set for mid-August.