It was the kind of situation investigators dream of. They had closed in on a senior businessman with a solid case, mostly about tax fraud. The suspect asked to hold a discreet, undocumented conversation. He offered to “spill” on high-ranking figures, including politicians, claiming to have information about them. In exchange, he wanted leniency in his case. The offer was passed on to the top brass of the Investigations Division. In the past, such people were embraced—even when it was known they were liars and forgers, like the late Shmuel Dechner (of the Holyland case). This time, the suspect’s proposal was flatly rejected. No reasons were given. Perhaps none were needed anymore.
Since the public investigation of David Bitan began in December 2017, the police’s major investigative units have not produced a single major corruption case. At best, a few mayors have been involved, and even those cases are often slow and underwhelming. The official excuse: they’re busy dealing with investigations in Arab society. Judging by the levels of violence there, it’s clearly not working.
The new head of the Investigations Division, Commissioner Boaz Blat, was appointed about four months ago and has received considerable praise from those who’ve worked with him. The agenda he has advanced in recent years is confrontational toward the State Attorney’s Office. A common police refrain is that it’s unacceptable for prosecutors to run their cases and meddle deeply in their work. Perhaps this is Blat’s own independent thinking—but it certainly aligns well with the views of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who backed his appointment over the more natural candidate, Deputy Commissioner Yoav Telem.
Over the past year, it seems that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has been trying to breathe some life into the Investigations Division and the elite units of the police. Time and again, she’s nearly forced them to open investigations—from the Miri Regev affair to the alleged harassment of witness Hadas Klein, as exposed in an Uvda investigation. But an unmotivated and intimidated police force won’t pursue such cases.
In the Regev case, I saw it up close. After the decision to launch an investigation, there was panic in quite a few places. The state-owned company Netivei Israel, for example, was accused in the investigation of repeatedly making politically motivated decisions to please Minister Regev. It quickly became clear to the company’s CEO that there would be no raids on their offices, no detainment of senior officials for questioning. The result: the pattern described in the exposé only grew stronger.
The CEO even led a scandalous appointment to the critical position of the company’s legal advisor. A junior attorney was promoted several levels up, and she is known for political ties to top officials. None of the gatekeepers stepped in to stop it. The damage caused by placing an unqualified gatekeeper in a company managing billions of shekels is obvious.
It’s likely that the investigation into the Uvda exposé will go in the same direction. It’s already been reported that the Bleiweiss family is refusing to hand over the late Chani’s phone, which contains the critical evidence. At the same time, the family is threatening to sue. A draft lawsuit has already been prepared and has reached senior Likud figures. It appears to be a form of negotiation—an attempt to launder a Likud payout to the family, with the criminal investigation acting as a motivator for the party to pay more. More diligent investigators might have already secured the phone—but such investigators are nowhere to be found.
Overall, one of the most depressing conclusions of this period is just how passive the more capable figures within the systems tasked with defending integrity have become. We hear no public resistance from the police, not from the Ministry of Finance, not from the Ministry of Transportation, and not from the Government Companies Authority. Silence, fear—people resign quietly and go build their private lives. It’s the furthest thing from what we need right now.