Since it was announced that Gal Hirsch, the coordinator for hostages and missing persons, will light a torch at the state Independence Day ceremony at Mount Herzl, the decision has faced sharp criticism, especially from hostage families, as well as from soldiers who served under him during the Second Lebanon War.
Hirsch has also been involved in a criminal case and is currently facing a trial for tax offenses dating back years.
Hirsch, 62, was the candidate for police commissioner in 2015 under then-minister of public security Gilad Erdan, but his candidacy was removed due to the allegations against him. In addition to suspected tax violations, the investigation initially included suspicions of bribery of a foreign public official, but insufficient evidence was found.
Nearly five years ago, in October 2021, the prosecution filed charges against Hirsch and three other individuals for tax offenses in the "Defensive Shield" case. Two defendants have already signed plea agreements, served community service, and paid fines.
According to the indictment, between 2007 and 2009, Hirsch and the three other individuals acted as partners in providing services to the Defense Ministry in Georgia and elsewhere, through companies under their control. The defendants operated through the company "Defensive Shield Israel Ltd," established in Israel, as well as through companies established in Georgia and the British Virgin Islands.
During this time, the four were involved in security consulting, military training, and brokering deals to sell military equipment to Georgia's Defense Ministry.
According to the indictment, the partnership's business activities generated millions of shekels in revenue, which were deposited into the companies' accounts. The profits were divided among the defendants through transfers to their personal accounts and to additional foreign company accounts controlled by them at foreign banks. The defendants also transferred funds between their personal accounts and those of the companies they controlled.
Specifics of the allegations against Hirsch
The prosecution believes the complex structure of the companies described in the indictment, as well as the numerous agreements and bank accounts used, was intended to help the defendants receive the funds, distribute them while hiding their beneficiaries, and conceal their income.
Regarding Hirsch, the allegation is that in 2008, he did not report personal income of at least 6.1 million shekels in his personal reports. Among other things, he is accused of using fraud, deceit, and schemes to intentionally evade taxes.
"I refused to sign a plea deal and admit to crimes I did not commit," Hirsch posted to Facebook after the indictment was filed. "I was suspected of bribery in the Rishon Lezion case and bribing a foreign public official abroad, investigated on multiple charges for over five years, and these fabricated cases that thwarted my appointment as police commissioner were closed."
"When they found no other way to incriminate me, they searched and searched (and even recruited a questionable state’s witness - when his identity is revealed, it will cause great embarrassment to the enforcement authorities), and then focused on investigating the taxes," continued the post.
Hirsch's trial has been ongoing for several years, with part of it devoted to preliminary matters and to a petition for the disclosure of classified evidence.
In 2022, it was permitted to publish that criminal and former lawyer Gidi Finkelstein (who was jailed for various offenses, including conspiracy to commit murder in another case) was a state’s witness in Hirsch's case. Finkelstein had been Hirsch’s lawyer and the lawyer of some of his partners in their businesses many years ago.
Later, the court allowed publication of a decision stating that some communications between Gal Hirsch and his lawyer were not protected by the attorney-client privilege and therefore could be reviewed by the prosecution. The parties also attempted mediation to settle the case, but it failed.
The trial continued into February of this year when a police officer from the national fraud unit testified. The trial is nearing the conclusion of the prosecution's case. That means the prosecution witnesses will soon finish testifying, and the defense witnesses will then take the stand. It seems the trial, which concerns tax offenses from 2008, will not conclude soon.
Hirsch himself is expected to testify in the coming months as the first defense witness. "The proceedings in Gal Hirsch's case are ongoing, and are currently nearing the conclusion of the prosecution’s case," the prosecution said. "During this period, requests for delays in some hearings were filed by his legal representatives, which the court examined according to the circumstances."
"The investigation against Gal Hirsch on suspicion of alleged bribery was opened more than 10 years ago, in an attempt to retroactively justify the failure of his candidacy for police commissioner," said Gal Hirsch's lawyer, Tal Shapira. "After years of harrowing investigations, the bribery case was ultimately closed due to a lack of evidence."
"Unfortunately, instead of allowing Gal Hirsch and his family to continue their lives as they should have been allowed, a tax case was opened against him regarding a specific event from about 20 years ago, which Mr. Hirsch denies entirely," continued Shapira. "This is an unprecedented legal torture, which has never been seen in Israel, costing Gal Hirsch and his family heavily financially, publicly, and health-wise."
"We are currently in the final stages of the prosecution's case, and are about to begin the defense phase, and we are confident that after hearing the evidence, the court will be persuaded that Gal Hirsch should be acquitted of this charge as well," Shapira concluded.