Royal Yisraeli Special Political Police
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| Royal Yisraeli Special Political Police משטרה פוליטית ישראלית מיוחדת | |
|---|---|
| Common name | YeMep (lit. "royal Yisraeli special police"); plural: Yemepim |
| Abbreviation | RYSPP |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1891 |
| Employees | ~4,500 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Yisrael |
| Operations jurisdiction | Yisrael |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Yerushalayim, Yisrael |
| Agency executive |
|
The Royal Yisraeli Special Political Police (Modern Hebrew: משטרה פוליטית ישראלית מיוחדת), also referred to as YeMep or RYSPP (colloquially), is a special political police force in Yisrael. It is an independent royal agency directly under the control of the King whose chief responsibilities are to investigate, control, and subvert political organizations whose ideologies are held to be a threat to the public order by the Government of Yisrael. Its duties combine criminal investigations and counterespionage under one agency; it is considered a jurisdictional rival to the Royal Yisraeli Security Service.
It has been accused of being a secret police force by critics on both the political left and right as well as purported victims of its investigations and security actions. Its main targets publicly are the home-grown Christian terrorists, political extremists, social radicals, and other subversives; privately, some believe it is a tool of suppression for enemies of the monarchy, the state, and its religious-based constitutional order.
Role and mandate
The RYSPP has a litany of political crime-specific law enforcement duties, including but not limited to:
- Investigating, infiltrating, and destroying subversive political groups;
- Controlling the spread, influence, and power of anti-constitutional ideologies;
- Monitoring and censoring communications of subversive ideologies, groups, and individuals; and
- Cooperating with related sister organizations to fight public corruption, political extremism, and other political crimes by public officers.
The YeMep answers solely to the King, whose office relays cases to the Royal Yisraeli Special Court on Political Crimes and Corruption for prosecution.
History
Organization
- Political and Ideological Criminal Affairs Section: The primary division that handles non-Christian terrorist general anti-constitutional ideologies, such as communism, socialism, secularism, fascism, etc.
- Counter-Terrorism and Christian Criminal Affairs Section: The main division that investigates, surveils, and infiltrates Christian terrorist groups such as the Christian Defense League, the Free Yarden Valley Catholic Front, and the Pan-Sydalene Liberation Army. These police officers liaise and cooperate in conjunction with the Royal Yisraeli Security Service's Christian Affairs Department.
- Special Activities Section: The division for undercover officers assigned to various cases across the sections. Yemepim located here generally are under official covers and have their real identities classified for the duration of their undercover duties.
- Public Information and Dissemination Section: The division responsibility for surveilling and controlling communications of targets and subjects, including monitoring telephone, radio, social media, and Internet communications. Officers here often work closely with the Royal Yisraeli Border Guard's Internal Border Control Section.
Gallery
Members of a counter-terrorist special forces unit meeting President Noah Feldman, c. 2016.
Yemepim in regular police uniforms at the site of an investigation.
A plainsclothes RYSPP detective alongside border guards in a Ashkelon shuk, c. 2018.
Yemepim in the Defense Forces' gray-green special forces uniform, arresting former Mayor of Yerushalayim Moshe Navat (center) on charges of corruption and political extremism.
