Cabinet Approves Appointment of New Police Department Chief

–The Cabinet today approved the appointment of Arye Invitzan, a 32-year veteran of the police force, as the new Inspector General of Police to replace Herzl Shafir who was fired by Interior Minister Yosef Burg last Thursday.

The Cabinet vote, with one abstention–by Finance Minister Yigal Hurwitz–was seen as an expression of support for Burg. He has come under heavy fire for allegedly having asked Shafir a month ago to postpone an investigation of possible criminal activity within the Interior Ministry until after the Knesset elections scheduled for November, 1981.

Shafir was dismissed after he admitted to a Knesset committee last week that the police had deliberately leaked false information to the press on the bribe-taking case against Religious Affairs Minister Aharon Abu-Hatzeira, a member of Burg’s National Religious Party (NRP).

HINTS OF POSSIBLE SCANDAL

Hints of a possible scandal and cover-up within the Interior Ministry came to light after MK Yossi Sarid of the opposition Labor Party sent a letter to Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir urging him to investigate the matter.

Sarid’s letter was based on off-the-record statements made by Shafir to a group of newspaper editors. He said he had written a memorandum concerning Burg’s alleged intervention in the police investigation of his ministry and handed it to a prominent personality for safe-keeping. He would not identify the person but said the memo was code-named “Apricot.”

When asked about the allegations at a press conference last Friday, Shafir replied, “no comment.” However, he attacked Burg for general interference with police work and accused him of trying to intervene in favor of yeshiva students who were jailed for certain offenses.

DENIES ANY COVER-UP

Burg conducted several press and radio interviews of his own over the weekend. He did not deny that he had proposed to Shafir that he delay an investigation of the Interior Ministry until after the elections or that he had asked to see the police evidence. But Burg insisted that this was not a cover-up because the matter had been discussed by the Knesset State Control Committee and was therefore out in the open. He said he wanted the investigation postponed because this is an election year and he feared the police would become a tool in the hands of politicians.

Burg also accused Shafir of threatening to blackmail him if he was dismissed. He quoted the Inspector General as warning, “Dr. Burg, I advise you not to fire me. It will be bad for the government, for your party and for you personally.” Shafir denied that version of his conversation with Burg. He said he had merely told the Minister that his dismissal would be harmful to the police.

SHAFIR’S VIEW OF DISMISSAL

Shafir said on radio interviews over the weekend that he did not think the Abu-Hatzeira case was the reason he was fired. He claimed that Burg knew about police leaks to the press in the Abu-Hatzeira case and lied when he told reporters last week that he was unaware that “such things go on.”

Shafir blamed Burg for the deterioration relations between the Interior Ministry and the police which is subject to ministry control. He charged constant interference on political levels with the day-to-day functioning of the police. “I don’t mind dealing every now and then with the specific problems of prisoners who were yeshiva students, but when this becomes a system I don’t accept it,” Shafir said.

Burg denied that he ever intervened in favor of prisoners who were Orthodox Jews. But he said he was proud that he did intervene in cases of prisoners who were not allowed to keep their bibles or ritual articles.

Meanwhile, the Labor Alignment and Shinui were reported to be negotiation today about a possible no-confidence motion in the Knesset tomorrow over

the Burg-Shafir affair. However, the Alignment was said to be reluctant to embarrass the NRP which it might need as a coalition partner if it wins the Knesset elections.