Israel Police chief turns to A-G over stalled senior appointments, bypassing Ben-Gvir

Police Commissioner Danny Levi asked AG Baharav-Miara to let senior police appointments move forward without Ben-Gvir’s signature, a day after the minister called Levi her “captive.”

Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Danny Levi on Monday asked Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to allow a broad round of police appointments to proceed, even though National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has not yet signed off on them, as procedure requires.

The request escalates the crisis between Ben-Gvir and Levi. The appointments were decided several weeks ago.

As national security minister, Ben-Gvir oversees the Israel Police, holds final authority over senior police appointments, and must sign them for them to take effect. In September, he told Levi there would be no further senior officer appointments until after the October 27 election, except in exceptional cases.

Maariv learned that Levi made the request because of an urgent need to fill a series of senior command posts left without permanent commanders, including district, subdistrict (regional), and police station commanders. Levi believes the delay is hurting the police’s functioning and continuity of command, and that key posts can no longer be left empty.

The timing of the request is especially notable, coming a day after Ben-Gvir harshly criticized Levi, whom he himself appointed to lead the police.

In an interview on Sunday, Ben-Gvir claimed that Levi is “captive” to the attorney-general and alleged that the commissioner had committed building violations. According to the minister, the attorney-general has not taken action against Levi over the matter. The claims are unproven, but the fact that the minister aired them publicly shows how deep the rift between the two has become.

Levi appointed in 2024 at Ben-Gvir's recommendation

Levi was appointed police commissioner in August 2024, at Ben-Gvir’s recommendation. Now, the commissioner Ben-Gvir handpicked is in open conflict with him, to the point of turning to the attorney-general to push through appointments the minister has not approved.

Among the appointments awaiting approval is a commander for a district that has been without a permanent head since Asst.-Ch. Amir Cohen retired from the police. The district is currently being run by its deputy commander, but Levi believes a permanent commander must be appointed immediately.

Also pending are appointments of subdistrict and station commanders across the country, including in the Ayalon subdistrict in the Tel Aviv area, whose commander is expected to retire in the coming days. Other posts opened up after officers retired, commanders’ terms ended, and others were removed from the police command staff.

Levi has said in various conversations and forums that he intends to keep moving forward with the appointments despite the difficulty in getting them approved. As he sees it, this is an organizational and operational need that cannot wait, especially since some of the posts involve commanding key units and subdistricts.

Levi: Ben-Gvir is deliberately delaying the appointments because of strained relationship

Levi believes Ben-Gvir is deliberately delaying the appointments because of the strained relationship. The request to the attorney-general is meant to explore a legal way to advance the appointments without the minister’s signature.

This has created an unusual situation, in which a commissioner appointed by the national security minister is seeking legal help from the same attorney-general whom the minister attacked just a day earlier for allegedly holding the commissioner “captive.”

Ben-Gvir had not responded to the commissioner’s request as of publication.