Israeli Police Watchdog Declines Criminal Probe into Officers’ Participation in Political TV Show

Following a Ynet report revealing that dozens of Israeli police officers were asked by their commanders to attend as audience members during the filming of the politically charged TV program "The Patriots" on Independence Day, the acting head of the Police Investigations Department, Attorney Ronen Yitzhak, ruled out opening a criminal investigation. However, he instructed that the matter be referred to the police disciplinary department for review, citing a serious breach of the police’s apolitical nature.

The controversy erupted after it was disclosed that officers were summoned during working hours to appear on the show, which frequently criticizes law enforcement bodies, including the police, prosecution, and judiciary. This raised concerns about maintaining the police’s impartial and state-serving character. Following public backlash, Police Commissioner Major General Danny Levi ordered the cancellation of the officers’ participation.

In response to a parliamentary inquiry by Merav Michaeli, Yitzhak wrote that while there was no reasonable suspicion to justify a criminal probe, the issue warranted disciplinary examination within the police. Michaeli subsequently sent a letter to Commissioner Levi demanding formal disciplinary measures against the commanders who initiated the officers’ attendance. She emphasized that commanding officers instructing subordinates to attend a politically oriented TV show during work hours constitutes a severe violation of the police’s apolitical mandate, administrative order, public trust, and misuse of official time.

Michaeli called on the commissioner to issue official reprimands to all involved commanders and to circulate a binding directive throughout the police force explicitly forbidding orders or permissions for officers to participate in politically affiliated events during duty hours.