Pride Parade attack victims oppose police chief appointment
Wounded from the 2015 stabbing at the Jerusalem Pride Parade appeal to appointments committee requesting to reverse decision to appoint Moshe Edri as new police commissioner after he didn't take responsibility for the tragic incident, which happened while he was the Jerusalem District chief.
The committee, which is required to provide its opinion regarding the integrity of the appointment, issued a notice calling on the public to bring to its members' attention facts that could assist them in providing their opinion.
"We urge the committee to delve into the report issued by the inquiry committee that investigated the incident, and especially examine the testimonies of Edri's subordinates," the victims wrote to the committee.
"(Due to) the contradictions between the testimonies, and the fact that Edri amended his testimony… We, the victims of the greatest intelligence failure in the history of the Israel Police, cast doubt on Edri’s ability to meet the rigid integrity standards expected from the No. 1 policeman, and we are calling on other citizens to voice their disagreement to the appointment,” they added.
"We believe it is inconceivable that an officer whose failure was so grave and directly contributed to the murder of the late Shira Banki, who was 15, assumes command of the entire police force,” they went on to say.
According to the victims, Edri "renounced his responsibility as the event’s commander, disregarding the nature and the scope of the parade," they explained, adding, "the units and police officers who are supposed to deal with threats such as Yishai Schlissel, who was previously imprisoned for stabbing several people at a Gay Pride Parade 10 years prior, don't have the required authority."
“Edri did not instruct the relevant units to cooperate with the regional commanders, leaving Schlissel, who was released from jail a few weeks earlier, unsupervised,” the letter stated.
"The findings of the investigation committee indicate that Edri's decisions and the manner in which he divided the responsibility between the various parties under his command led to utter confusion," the victims went on to say.
The wounded claim that after the attack, Edri “did not take responsibility for the incident, and tried to minimize his part in the failure that occurred. In retrospect, it also turns out that he altered his testimony after reviewing the committee's findings.”
Noam Eyal, one of the wounded, said, "the committee has come to examine Edri's qualifications in terms of integrity. Unlike Minister Erdan and Edri’s people from the police … we know Edri did not take responsibility for his part, and his subordinates made serious allegations about the price they paid for their part in the failure.”
Yael Belkin, who is also one of the letter's signatories, said she "hopes the committee will do the right thing and stop this appointment. “
"We stand by the wounded and implore the committee to properly discuss the serious failure that occurred under Edri," said Eran Globus, the chairman of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance.
Deputy Commissioner Benzi Sau, who was acting police commissioner at the time, told Ynet last week that the allegations regarding Edri's conduct during the 2015 parade do not undermine his talents.
"Our investigation revealed that Edri had taken all the precautionary measures required of the district commander. It's unfortunate that in the end, the despicable murderer managed to breach the police barrier, but it's definitely not his fault,” Sau emphasized.
