Were the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) not so essential for Israel’s everyday security, the debacle involving the appointment of a new Shin Bet chief could be shrugged off with a dismissive cluck of the tongue and a resigned shake of the head.
But the Shin Bet is essential – every week, every day, every hour. When it succeeds, terrorist attacks designed to kill dozens are foiled. When it fails, as it did on October 7, tragedy strikes.
Israel needs a Shin Bet that is effective, focused, and above political gamesmanship. This is especially true now, as thousands of the country’s sons and daughters are on the verge of a new offensive in Gaza – an operation that depends heavily on accurate, timely intelligence from the Shin Bet.
Precisely because the organization is so vital, the farcical way in which its next leader is being chosen – following the firing/resignation of current head Ronen Bar, set to take effect on June 15 – is deeply troubling and deserves widespread condemnation, not just a dismissive shrug.
On Thursday evening, after the High Court of Justice – in what we believe was an odd and misplaced decision – ruled that Netanyahu’s dismissal of Bar was unlawful, and after the attorney-general declared that Netanyahu cannot be involved in selecting Bar’s successor due to a conflict of interest, the prime minister announced his choice: Maj.-Gen. David Zini.
Remember, this is already the second candidate he has named after picking and withdrawing former naval chief V.-Adm. (ret.) Eli Sharvit two months ago.
Why was the court’s decision problematic? Because Bar had already resigned, whether he should have been fired was, at that point, academic. The court waded into a moot issue, unnecessarily fanning the already high flames regarding court overreach and appearing to settle a theoretical dispute just to make a point.
The court ruled Netanyahu should not have fired Bar; it did not say, however, that he couldn’t appoint a successor.
That was left to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, already in a dysfunctional relationship with the government, who said that Netanyahu’s conflict of interest – stemming from a Shin Bet investigation into the Qatargate scandal involving his senior advisers – disqualified him from making the appointment.
So what did Netanyahu do?
Naturally, he appointed someone anyway. Despite the court weighing in to show who’s boss and the attorney chiming in to assert her own authority, Netanyahu upped the ante to prove that, in the end, he calls the shots — regardless of how it looks or what damage it may cause to public confidence in the process.
And whom did he appoint? David Zini, an active IDF major-general who, because of his national-religious worldview and the statements he made prioritizing defeating Hamas over bringing the hostages home, is a natural political lightning rod.
Without knowing much about him, some have already branded him “messianic,” while others are cheering him as “one of us” and just what the Shin Bet needs. Either way, at a moment when the Shin Bet urgently needs to restore public trust and credibility, Netanyahu chose a figure likely to deepen division and polarization.
And that’s not the half of it.
How was Zini chosen? Not through a structured vetting process, a professional search, or a careful round of interviews – but during a visit by the prime minister to his base earlier this month, during which the two reportedly had a short conversation in Netanyahu’s car.
To make matters worse, Netanyahu bypassed accepted protocol barring politicians from engaging generals without prior coordination with the IDF chief of staff.
The current chief, Eyal Zamir, reportedly learned of the appointment only three minutes before it was made public. Feeling blindsided and undermined, he dismissed Zini from the army the very next day, further aggravating tension between the military and the government.
If the situation weren’t so grave, it might be laughable – a comedy of errors by everyone, fit for a political satire. But this is no joke. It is deadly serious. And because it is so serious, the only appropriate response is not laughter but a cry of frustration directed at all those involved: the court, the attorney-general, the prime minister, his top advisers, and the IDF chief of staff.
For the sake of the country, get the house in order.
Fast.
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