Top Police Officer Accused of Harassment Resigns

Alona Shushan, the head of the Police Human Resources Department, announced her resignation on Monday to Police Commissioner Dani Levy. Shushan is currently suspected of harassing Lior Abudraham, head of the Police Spokesperson's Division, and of destroying evidence as part of the Kobi Yaacobi, Prison Service Commissioner, affair. The Attorney General is expected to decide soon on indicting her. Shushan denies the allegations against her. She claimed that Abudraham sexually harassed her during a joint trip, a claim he denies. The investigation into Shushan is an offshoot of the affair involving associates of Ben-Gvir. In the original case, the Prison Service Commissioner was suspected of leaking to former Judean and Samarian District Commander Avishai Moalem that the Police Investigations Department was conducting a covert investigation that was preventing his promotion. Abudraham, formerly close to Yaacobi, is considered the main witness against the commissioner in that case, and is suspected of obstruction of justice, fraud, and breach of trust. In his testimony to the Police Investigations Department, Abudraham implicated Yaacobi by stating he told him about Moalem's investigation after learning of it in his role as assistant to the Police Commissioner. During a hearing before Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Yaacobi's lawyer argued that Abudraham told another officer, Shushan, that he was involved in an intimate relationship with a Police Investigations Department investigator in the case. Due to these claims, the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor decided to assign the investigation to an external team from the Competition Authority. The authority investigated Abudraham and Shushan, who recorded him during their conversation and claimed he sexually harassed her. Shushan was questioned under caution on suspicion of being sent by Yaacobi to elicit and record Abudraham, and was accused of harassing him. She rejected the suspicions, stating she decided to record his words because she herself was sexually harassed. Abudraham also denied the allegations against him, claiming he boasted about events that did not occur because he realized Shushan was recording him. He presented a polygraph test in which he denied having an affair with the investigator and was found to be truthful. The investigator also presented a similar polygraph test, denied the claims or knowing Abudraham, and was found to be truthful. At the end of the investigation, Abudraham was released and allowed to return to work, under conditions prohibiting contact with Shushan. Abudraham also awaits a decision from investigators regarding the case against him. Lawyers Shani Eiluz and Kobi Avitbul, representing Shushan, explained that she is due to reach retirement age in about a month and decided to retire to dedicate time to herself and her family. Their statement added that Shushan dedicated over 30 years to public service and the Israel Police with dedication, professionalism, and deep commitment, leading significant work to strengthen the police, advance human capital, and improve the welfare of officers and their families.