State Prosecutor Amit Isman delivered an unusually sharp attack on the government and several legislative initiatives, warning that they pose a direct threat to Israel’s law enforcement independence. His main target was the new Police Internal Investigations Department, or Machash, law, which he said could create a “real concern” of severe damage to the body’s independence and turn it into an arm of the political level.
Isman said the new law requires the head of Machash to be chosen by a “clearly political committee.” He argued that when an agency with major investigative and prosecutorial powers is placed in “structural, budgetary and managerial dependence on the political echelon,” a basic constitutional question arises over whether sensitive investigations can be handled without fear. He warned the new arrangements could create a “chilling effect” and be used as pressure on investigators and prosecutors.
He linked the Machash bill to other problematic moves, including a proposal to split the attorney general’s role, which he said also raises “heavy constitutional difficulties.” A large part of his speech focused on what he described as elected officials shielding suspects for political reasons. He accused interested parties of “a deliberate erosion of public trust in the law enforcement system” and said repeated attempts to drag legal rulings into political disputes damage the legitimacy of the entire justice system.
On public corruption, Isman said the harm is long term and destructive because it strikes at the foundations of governance. “Corruption signals that the rules are flexible for the strong and rigid for the weak, and that the law is not equal for everyone,” he said, adding that no one is above the law. He also addressed digital pressure on prosecutors, saying, “Noise is not evidence. A headline is not an evidentiary basis. And a number of likes or shares is not a legal test.”
He also discussed rising crime and violence in Arab society, calling it a national test of governance and personal security. He said that over the past year, joint efforts with Israel Police and other enforcement agencies produced major indictments against the country’s leading crime organizations, including Abu Latif, Hariri and Bakri, and advanced the “Municipal Prosecutor” project. He closed by saying the State Attorney’s Office serves all citizens and will continue acting without fear or bias, based only on evidence, the law and equality.
