MKs support Karadi's resignation

MK Yatom: "Karadi's decision to take responsibility is a ray of light in the darkness that is the Zeiler Commission report."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
moshe karadi 88.298 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
moshe karadi 88.298
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Knesset members praised Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi's decision to resign Sunday following a report by the Zeiler Commission criticizing his conduct, and urged others to follow suit. "Karadi's decision to take responsibility is a ray of light in the darkness that is the Zeiler Commission report," said MK Danny Yatom (Labor). "It will, hopefully, serve as an example to others." Fellow Labor MKs Yoram Marciano and Nadia Hilu echoed Yatom's words, with Hilu calling on the government to "dismiss all of those mentioned in the report." Opposition MKs pointed to Karadi's resignation as a symptom of a larger issue of corruption in the political and security echelons. "The State of Israel has AIDS of corruption, and its immune mechanisms are rotten," said MK Arye Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party). "The prime minister, who should be fighting corruption, is infected with it as well. We must go to early elections." Karadi resigned Sunday in the wake of findings by the Zeiler Commission, which investigated alleged police misconduct during a probe of a 1999 murder. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter announced Sunday night that he would appoint Israel Prisons Service Chief Warden Yaakov Ganot as Karadi's replacement. Earlier, MKs had called on Dichter to take his time to appoint a new police chief. "The internal security minister should not settle for Karadi's resignation and the search for a replacement - he should act to immediately have the Zeiler Commission's recommendations implemented," said MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz). MK Ami Ayalon (Labor-Meimad) said a broad consultation, involving both the cabinet and professionals, should be conducted before Dichter made a decision on the next police chief. "Only if a man who displays leadership, integrity and professionalism is appointed will we be able to restore the public's trust in the system," said Ayalon.