Ben Gvir: There Is No Democratic Country Where the Chief of Police Is Subordinate to Himself

​​The Special Committee on the Bill to Amend the Police Ordinance, chaired by MK Ofir Katz (Likud), began to debate on Sunday the second part of the bill. The meeting was held with the participation of the bill’s sponsor, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The first part of the law, which passed in the Knesset on Dec. 27, 2022, anchored the Israel Police’s subordination to the government, as well as the national security minister’s ability to set policy and general principles; enabled the minister to set policy regarding investigations, after consulting with the attorney general, the police commissioner and the officers responsible for investigations; and required that the minister report to the Knesset’s National Security Committee once a year, as well as publish any policy decisions on the police’s website. The second part of the bill, which is being prepared by the special committee for its second and third readings, adds a provision that the police commissioner is “subordinate to the minister”; that the commissioner is the police’s supreme commanding officer; and that the minister has the authority to “set policy regarding the duration of treatment of cases” after consulting with the attorney general, the police commissioner and the officers responsible for investigations.

During the meeting, Ben Gvir said “It was important for me to come here. We are certainly attentive to the comments of the committee members, the Knesset’s legal counsel and the guests who [have attended the meetings of the committee]. I am not trying to become chief of police, and I am not trying to control investigations. What I do want is for us to live in a democratic country in which the chief of police is subordinate to the government and the minister. There is no other country in the world where the chief of police is subordinate to himself, like in non-democratic countries. I know there are those who do not like it that there is a new political echelon and a rightist government. I ask that you show responsibly in the things that are said, the incitement and the harsh words that are said during the demonstrations. This incitement has to stop and be stopped.”

Ben Gvir called on MKs to act responsibly and “calm the public,” and said, “Every day I hear of another warning about the next murder, of myself or, G-d forbid, the Prime Minister or other ministers, and I say to you: ‘Wise ones, be careful with your words.'”

Former MK Gaby Lasky said “Democracy is not a matter of public trust,” and argued that the right thing to do would be to stop all the current legislative processes. In response, Committee Chairman Katz said, “Let’s start with Election Day, which, for the citizens of the State of Israel, is the most important day for exerting their influence. And in a democracy, the vote of my grandmother from Afula is equal to the vote of a top lawyer from Tel Aviv. The fact that they are more educated does not mean that their vote … is worth more than my grandmother’s vote in Afula.”