Last week, the police commissioner, Chief Superintendent Kobi Shabtai, issued an official announcement regarding the grants that thousands of police officers will receive. "The thorough work of the minister and the Ministry of National Security made it possible to provide grants that will help the police," Shabtai noted, as if rivers of bad blood had never passed between them that burst out into the media like cannons from a bombardment.
Towards the end of his term as Israel's 19th police commissioner, Shabtai's term will be remembered as one that succeeded in lowering the image of the police and police to its lowest point. From the committee investigating the Meron disaster that sent him a warning letter, through the nearly 200 murders in Arab society, the extortion of protection money in the north and south, to an unprecedented complaint to the PIU that he allegedly stabbed one of the extras in the leg.
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The "impeachment call" Shabtai made to former Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed, who at the time commanded forces on the ground during the protest demonstration, will also be etched in the public memory. At the same time, it's hard to forget the pandering to Itamar Ben-Gvir in an attempt to get a fourth year in office. The combination of a commissioner who lacks management ability and a minister who fears for his image has raised the level of toxicity between the two to one that could set fire to the entire rainforest in South America.
Serious internal document
And not only that. Twelve of the 12 extras retired from the police during his tenure, more than half of them by slamming a door. One of those still serving does not choose his words. "Saturn's period is characterized by a lack of policy and a lack of clear instructions," he says. "Shabtai was a company commander in the Border Police and that's where he got stuck. That's his level of thinking. Most extras have no confidence in him. There are those who call him 'the disappearing police commissioner' because they don't really count him."
In recent days, Israel Hayom has received a severe internal document compiled by senior officers, including several extras – a step that has not been done in the past with a serving police commissioner. In the document, the officials detailed the alleged problems during Saturn's tenure. "The police stations were neglected," it noted, "and this led to the feeling of the station commanders that 'from a foundation brick we have become marginal youth.' There is a direct impact of the situation on the motivation of station police officers, the willingness of officers to serve at the stations and even to head them. As a result, the organization is experiencing a significant increase in the number of resignations and difficulty recruiting new police officers to replace them."
Retired from the police, Ami Eshed, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
In light of this, here is a summary of the tenure, which began in January 2021 with great hope and will end in about three months with exhausted and weak police, with a lack of governance that has soared to the heights of a distant galaxy and with officers who feel they do not have a responsible adult.
2021: The Meron disaster and "Guardian of the Walls" -
Kobi Shabtai took office on January 17, 2021, after his predecessor, retired Major General Moti Cohen, remained as acting police commissioner. Despite this, Cohen steered the police with authority and professionalism through three election campaigns, the COVID-<> period, three lockdowns and weekly demonstrations in Belfort. After these crises, it seemed that a commissioner with creative thinking would move the organization forward.
But creativity was not here. About two months after taking office, the first commissioner, Amnon Alkalai, former head of the operations division, retired. The background to the departure was the preparations for Meron's celebration and Alkalai's claims that "the decision-making process on the issue is wrong."
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A month later, on 30 April, the revelry became the greatest civilian disaster in Israel's history. 45 revellers were killed, 102 were wounded. In his testimony before the State Committee to Investigate the Disaster, Shabtai refused to accept responsibility, even though before the revelry he was in Meron checking the preparations, and was even photographed smiling with former Public Security Minister Amir Ohana.
The police were caught naked
About a month after the tragedy, on 20 May, Operation Guardian of the Walls broke out, leading to unusual riots in mixed cities, such as Lod and Acre. The police were caught naked with a resounding intelligence miss and no officers on the ground, leaving bloody scenes and a sense of pogrom.
After harsh criticism of his performance, the police commissioner decided to be interviewed by the media and summarize his six-month term. Perhaps inadvertently, or perhaps consciously, he showed a lack of collegiality toward his predecessor when he said, "I got the police after more than two years without an acting commissioner, in a difficult situation."
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About a week passed, a new affair opened that also drew sharp criticism of the police and its functioning, when model agent Shai Avital went abroad and did not return, despite the fact that the number of complainants against him was increasing. He was only arrested on 19 August 2022, more than a year later.
That same month, Central District Commander Moshe Barkat, who was considered a high-quality officer and a candidate for police commissioner, also announced his retirement. He claimed to have felt exhausted, but his associates made it clear that he was tired of the murky relationship with Saturn.
Shai Avital on remand extension, archive, photo: Coco
2022: The Dissidents and the Warning Letter -
The year 2022 surprised with an unprecedented number of extras who retired. The first was Jamal Hakrush, head of the Crime Prevention Division in Arab society, who was forced to leave after footage of him leaping over a body at a murder scene.
Immediately afterwards, the head of the logistics support division, Ayelet Yeruham, retired for personal reasons. In April, they were joined by the head of the traffic division, Alon Arieh, who ended the difficult relationship with Saturn. Shimon Lavie, commander of the Northern District, also left out of the responsibility he took for his part in the Meron disaster.
Ouch to leave. Jamal Hakrush, Photo: Michel Dot Com
In August, the Meron Committee sent warning letters to senior officials, including Shabtai. "He approved the plan of the operation even though he knew that the mountain compound and the compounds used for lighting could not safely accommodate the expected number of visitors, ignoring the dangers," the letter said. The committee added that when the possibility arose of limiting the revelers due to the coronavirus, Shabtai rejected the proposal.
Spiral capability
On 8 December, when former Public Security Minister Omer Barlev left office, Shabtai demonstrated spiral ability on the level of Artyom Dolgopiat. After Bar-Lev approved the promotion of officers, contrary to the demand of Ben-Gvir, who was about to take office, Shabtai was absent from the ceremony granting the ranks of his police officers on the grounds that he had medical examinations. A few hours later, he arrived at Ben-Gvir's daughter's bat mitzvah celebration.
That same month, the fifth commissioner, Commissioner David Bitan, retired, reaching retirement age. "He could have prevented extras from leaving and asked them to stay a little longer to stabilize the system," said one extra.
Retired. Commissioner David Bitan, Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Office
"At every meeting of the command staff, Shabtai is supposed to ask for an account from the district commanders, and he doesn't do that. One of them once told him: 'Kobe, ask us what tools we need and what our distress is,' but he doesn't ask anything. He doesn't run the police. Every district commander conducts himself as he sees fit."
2023: Errors in Judgment -
Also in 2023, five extras retired. In January, Shai Cooperman, head of the Technology and ICT Division, retired. In March, the impeachment conversation was held with Commissioner Ami Eshed, but two days later the police commissioner regretted it.
The desperate attempt to ingratiate themselves with Ben-Gvir was unsuccessful, and a month later the two clashed during a discussion about crime in the sector. In the recording, Saturn is heard expressing himself in a controversial way. "There's nothing we can do," he said, "They murder each other, it's their nature. That's the mentality of the Arabs."
Another unflattering recording was released after a discussion in April in the presence of Ben-Gvir and his security secretary, Lt. Gen. Eliyahu Kazari, who hoped to serve as district commander.
Kazari: "You appoint officers using the friend brings friend method. You destroyed the police."
Shabtai: "You didn't do enough core functions to be a district commander."
Kazari: "Didn't I do core roles? The whole service I was in the field. You are motivated by personal motives, all your decisions stem from settling accounts. If I open my mouth on you, the police will tremble. We all know how you got into this role."
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After the confrontation, Kazari retired from the police. He was followed by three more officers who retired in discordant tones: the head of the planning division, Danny Caribou; Head of the Crime Prevention Division in Arab Society, Natan Bozna; Washeed, who refused to accept the zobor that had been done to him.
"The most failed police commissioner ever"
This year, Shabtai was also embroiled in an affair that could make him the first police commissioner to be investigated by the DIP. Alkalai filed a complaint against him, claiming that he stabbed him in the thigh during a staff meeting. Saturn denies and claims that the knife slipped from his hand when he peeled an orange for those present.
Claims that the police commissioner stabbed him about three years ago. Retired Major General Amnon Alkalay, Photo: Dudi Vaknin
"Saturn loves knives and this is nothing new," said one of the extras. "He wanted to demonstrate his abilities, and then the knife lodged in Alkalai's leg. Even if it's accidental, it's childish and indiscretionary. No wonder the officers disrespect him. To me, he's the most failed police commissioner he's ever been."
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