Shin Bet’s No. 2 Approved as Head of Israel Police

By JTA October 11, 2015

The deputy director of the Shin Bet security service was approved as head of the Israel Police.

On Sunday, Israel’s Cabinet unanimously backed the appointment of Ronen Alsheich, 52, as inspector general. His name had been under censorship rules since his nomination last month due to his position with the Shin Bet.

Alsheich, who was nominated by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, is scheduled to take over on Nov. 11.

“Roni is a professional who has advanced many reforms in the field of security, and I am sure that his professional capabilities, together with the values he brings along with him, will allow him to march the Israel Police forward and manage all the challenges facing it,” Erdan said.

The appointment came at the end of a protracted debate in the media and elsewhere about the suitability of Erdan’s first pick, Gal Hirsch.

Several bereaved parents protested the appointment of Hirsch, whom Erdan said in August is best equipped to rehabilitate the Israel Police after a string of scandals involving corruption, sexual harassment and alleged racism.

Opponents cited perceived failures in Hirsch’s performance as brigadier general during the 2006 war in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO