The upheaval in the Israel Police following revelations that it used the "Pegasus" spyware program on citizens, and the establishment of a committee of inquiry or investigation, needs to be a catalyst for dramatic change, mainly in terms of professionalizing the police as a force that serves and protects civilians. We all saw this sooner. For decades, Arab society in Israel shouted and cried that police conduct had crossed the lines on countless occasions, but nothing drew the interest or empathy of the Jewish majority quite like the current scandal, which is hard to disconnect from the police's organizational culture.
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It's obvious to everyone that police play a very important role in protecting the people, and in many cases, officers do their job dutifully and honorably. But as the most vital civilian security organization in the country, improvement and professionalization are still necessary. The organization, however, appears to have developed a culture of covering up scandals, concealing information from the public and elected officials.
Despite the long list of individuals whose phones were allegedly hacked with the Pegasus spyware, it's astonishing to see that no information has come out about the use of the program against political, social, or religious leaders from the Arab sector. This can lead to several conclusions: Either the Arab public is irrelevant in the police's fight against corruption, or corruption doesn't exist in the Arab sector, which would be quite extraordinary considering the Israeli political landscape.
The cultural norms that have permeated the police in recent years, mainly with the appointment of former police chief Roni Alsheikh, are more reminiscent of the culture one might find in a spy organization, such as the Shin Bet, which in and of itself requires deep organizational introspection. Perhaps Alsheikh sought to inculcate the culture in which he himself worked and rose through the ranks for the past three decades, but the difference is that most of the Shin Bet's surveillance doesn't target Israeli citizens.
For three decades, the Arab public has said the police wasn't doing its job faithfully in its interactions with Arab citizens and fighting crime in the Arab sector, the most damning proof of that being the more than 1,700 murdered Arab citizens over the past two decades. Nearly one-half of these cases are still unsolved, and herein begins the failure.
In perhaps the seminal event in the country's relations with the Arab public, the clashes of October 2000, a state commission of inquiry was formed, the Or Commission, which determined that the police had failed in its handling of the violence – from the high command at the time to the last officer on the ground. Thirteen Arab citizens were killed during those clashes, the finger on the trigger was light, yet all the files were closed.
The police must be strengthened so that it can protect the people, the state, and democracy. To this end, it needs to be professional and trustworthy, to act by the rules and to establish a mechanism for internal criticism that will effectively purge from its ranks anyone who helps commit crimes against citizens – otherwise, it will not be fulfilling its duty or purpose.
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