Excerpt of the letter
Monday, April 7, 2025, 8:46 Honenu wrote urgent letters to the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, the head of the Police Investigation Unit, Keren Bar Menachem, the Police Commissioner, Daniel Levi, and the Head of the Investigations and Intelligence Department Boaz Blatt demanding a criminal investigation of the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS. The demand was made in light of leaked recordings in which the department head admitted that suspects were detained for several days despite the lack of evidence and that he had persuaded the police to detain them without grounds. The specific charges against the department head include abuse of power, deception and breach of trust, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit a crime, conveying disinformation, and corruption of legal proceedings.
The letter describes how attorneys working for Honenu have represented many suspects who were detained, frequently for days, if not weeks, without cause. For many years Honenu has asserted that the suspects “suffer from persecution and harassment by law enforcement agents as their rights as suspects, Israeli citizens, and human beings are repeatedly violated.”
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski wrote that “Conversations with the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS were leaked that clearly indicate intentional and systematic behavior of senior officials in the GSS that not only is illegal, but also involves directing officials in the Israel Police to violate the law.”
The recordings reveal “behavior that is completely hubris and arrogance, entailing a deep disrespect for the values of the rule of law and human rights, flawed by sweeping delegitimization and dehumanization of settlers, callous and humiliating treatment peppered with vulgar slurs about settlers that should not be put in print, and even expressions of deep contempt for IDF soldiers. From what has been publicized in the media, a strong suspicion of continuous, systematic, and intentional violations of the law arises.”
The letter further specifies that, “The head of the Jewish Department was recorded admitting that many suspects under GSS interrogations were detained for several days without evidence. He also directed and persuaded a senior official in the Israel Police to detain citizens without any justification. I demand an immediate criminal investigation of the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS on suspicion of committing the following offenses…”
The offenses he allegedly committed are abuse of power, deception and breach of trust, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit a crime, conveying disinformation, and corruption of legal proceedings, among others.
The letter continues: “The head of the Jewish Department of the GSS directed a senior official in the Israel Police to implement an illegal policy regarding the detention of citizens. … The GSS also attempted to engage officials in the office of the Minister of Defense in illegal conduct that the Minister described as persecuting settlers.”
Honenu insists that, “law enforcement agents must act decisively and quickly for a thorough investigation to arrive at the truth, particularly since the matter at hand is political corruption that reached senior levels of law enforcement. This is a severe violation of the fundamental rights of citizens and an abuse of authority that undermines the democratic foundations on which a civilized society subject to the rule of law are grounded.”
Attorney Poleski concluded, “From statements by the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS it appears that senior officials in the GSS are involved with setting out this policy that in its entirety indicates that the GSS does not consider itself to be subject to either the rule of law or any other governmental authority. The GSS is even attempting to implement their illegal methods of operation in the Israel Police.”