Our losing team
Everyone has score to settle with Israel Police, be it settlers, Arabs, or Orthodox
The Israel Police urgently needs a commissioner who we cannot pass any judgment on. It needs a person who is willing to put himself in a bad situation. The Israel Police have turned into an organization that is so unattractive that Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter simply had to go from one senior figure to another to offer them the undesired job of chief of police. And he encountered one rejection after the other.
Who wants to be the number 1 cop when the entire country is hostile even to low ranking police officers? Eventually, Dichter chose a man who turned out not to be innocent because of reasonable doubt in a past affair, but rather, in the status of doubtful because of the way he was acquitted. Tainted. We cannot even be acquitted in this country anymore.
Who does not have a score to settle with our police? The settlers remember the riot in Amona and the curses hurled at them by Brigadier General Niso Shaham at Kfar Maimon, before the disengagement. Rioting leftists encounter the police at the security fence near the West Bank village of Bil'in.
Israeli Arabs remember the police from the October 2000 riots. Drivers encounter tough traffic police officers, and the ultra-Orthodox carry bitter memories from Shabbat protests. Meanwhile, other citizens remember how futile the police were when they came to complain about a break-in or a stolen car.
If we add to that all kinds of dubious affairs, political ties, and questionable connections between police officers and criminals, we see why citizens lack faith in their police.
Israeli public is like a soccer fan
Karadi's latest downfall and Dichter's problematic choice of Yaakov Ganot to replace Karadi as police chief only made the difficult feelings worse. The Israeli public is like a soccer team fan, whose beloved team is displaying particularly terrible playing ability at its home stadium. In the second half of the game, when there is no longer a chance to win, the fan starts to swear at his players, coach, and team management. At times he even cheers on the opposing team and wishes bad things to his own team.
The Israel Police is our losing team. We do not rejoice at its downfall, but rather, we are saddened by it. After all, it is still our police. Perhaps a new coach who is brilliant and can provide a sense of confidence can get the team on track again so it can start winning.
We need a police chief who is willing to put everything he has, including all his time and reputation, on the line for the sake of this senior post. He will get a vehicle from work, along with inconvenient work hours, and will need the ability to cooperate with the public and with commissions of inquiry. If we do not have a police, we will remain alone with the thieves.
