Israeli Minister Blasts Chief of Police for Meddling in Choice of Successor

Public Security Minister Itzhak Aharonovitch on Monday called on Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino to “mind his own business” with regard to the selection of the next commissioner.

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Aharonovitch, who has widened the search for the next commissioner to candidates from outside the police, some of whom only recently retired from the army, was responding to an interview with Danino in the weekend edition of the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth. In it, Danino was quoted as saying: “the chances of a candidate from the outside learning the job of commissioner without background in the police are not high. I can attest to this: The experience I gained in previous posts carries great weight in my work as commissioner.”

Aharonovitch made the remark when asked Monday during a visit to the Western Wall whether he agreed with Danino. He responded that he does not “see eye to eye” on the matter, and said it was “very unfortunate that a serving commissioner gives me advice via a newspaper,” saying that he rejected the remark and that Danino “should mind his own business and not deal with matters of the next commissioner.”

The police spokesman said the commissioner had no response besides that the minister’s remarks were not worthy of one made through the media.

Close associates of Aharonovitch said he regarded the interview Danino gave as a kind of settling of accounts with the minister. They noted that what angered Aharonovitch was not what Danino said, but what he did not say.

In the interview, with journalist Nahum Barnea, Danino discussed the increased funding to the police and the fact that the force has been augmented by hundreds of new personnel - but did not mention that it was Aharonovitch who was behind these moves.

“He shamelessly neglected to mention the minister’s work in this regard,” a member of Aharonvitch’s inner circle said. “Yohanan knows exactly who brought the money. He played it as if he doesn’t know how to market himself. He’s busy all day, every day, marketing himself for the day after, crushing everyone who works with him,” the individual said.

Among the names raised as possible candidates for the position of the next commissioner are reserve generals Gadi Shamni and Tal Russo, who have received messages on the matter - but have not been approached officially.