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Major General David Zini at an IDF ceremony on 14 July 2024 (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, CC3.0).
After months of controversy, Israel’s security agency, the Shin Bet may soon have a new head.
The previous chief, Ronen Bar, resigned in April, six weeks after the Cabinet voted to remove him. His departure was opposed by a coalition of civil society groups, who accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a conflict of interests.1 Bar had been responsible for the investigation of ‘Qatargate’, - a scandal centering on alleged payments by the Qatari government to Netanyahu’s advisors.2
In May, Netanyahu named IDF general David Zini as Bar’s successor, once more prompting widespread opposition. The Committee for Senior Civil Service Appointments approved the posting on Friday, in spite of critical submissions from several former Shin Bet chiefs including Carmi Gillon, Ami Ayalon, Yoram Cohen and Nadav Argaman. Gillon’s letter warned that ‘appointing Zini means dismantling the Shin Bet from within.’3
The agency’s co-ordinators in the West Bank and Jerusalem threatened to resign in May, according to the Times of Israel, which reported that they ‘expressed concern that his “messianic” views conflict with the agency’s core values and would damage its nonpartisan character.’4
Under a deal reached in July, the interim Shin Bet chief, known only by the Hebrew initial ‘Shin’, was given two months to complete the Qatargate probe before Zini’s appointment.5
The investigation has been active in recent weeks, but its future is unclear. Zini is reported to have said that ‘The judicial system is a dictatorship that controls the entire country,’ and that existing Shin Bet leadership are confused because ‘they say they are subordinate first and foremost to the law, but that is not true. They need to obey the law, but they are first and foremost subordinate to the prime minister.’6
The dispute has prompted some understandable cynicism given the nature of Shin Bet’s activities. Veteran Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy wrote earlier this month:
The liberal camp wants a vegan to manage the slaughterhouse, and here they go and appoint a butcher on steroids as chief. That really isn’t nice. But the whole point of the Shin Bet is to consolidate the occupation, the apartheid, the expulsion and “Judaization,” through interrogations, mass kidnappings (called “detentions” here), extortion and assassinations, and who is better suited for the job than Zini?7
It is not only domestic liberals who have an interest in the Shin Bet’s non-partisan character. The recent work of Aviva Guttman underlines how important this image can be to international liaison.
In her 2018 study of early international counter-terrorism liaison through the Club de Berne, Guttmann wrote that ‘throughout the intelligence-sharing process, the political implications of counterterrorism cooperation were left unspoken. Cooperation was kept on a completely operational, tactical, and criminological level. It is possible that it was precisely this depoliticisation that made the cooperation so effective.’8
She went on to add that a ‘major factor that enabled cooperation was trust and a common understanding of terrorism. It is obvious that governments could not work with countries that supported terrorists, such as certain Middle Eastern states or the Soviet Union, but it seems that a country’s democratic governmental structures and constitution were decisive factors, too. Hence, counterterrorism cooperation was only possible among so-called “like-minded countries,” where enough trust reigned for an unquestioned, sincere, and open sharing of information.’9
Israel, though not a member of the Club de Berne, was involved in the related Kilowatt network on Palestinian terrorism, while NATO member Turkey participated in neither.
Guttman was writing of the 1970s and 1980s, long before the War on Terror brought an upsurge in counter-terrorism liaison with authoritarian regimes. Yet Israel’s self image as ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’ has undoubtedly been an advantage over its neighbours. The politicisation of Shin Bet could become another contributor to the Netanyahu government’s increasing international isolation.
Of course, Shin Bet’s most important liaison relationship is unlikely to be affected. The politicisation of the FBI is even further advanced. Not only has the Trump administration installed a staunch partisan, Kash Patel, as FBI Director, it has launched a criminal case against one of his predecessors, James Comey.10
Ironically, in a statement on the indictment on Thursday, Patel railed against ‘politicization of law enforcement… …during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.’11
One cannot blame Israeli liberals for fearing that the new leadership of Shin Bet represents the beginning of a similar trajectory.
Opposition parties, NGOs petition High Court to intervene in Shin Bet chief’s firing, Times of Israel, 21 March 2025.
Sam Sokol, Lapid, Gantz implore Netanyahu not to fire Shin Bet chief now, Times of Israel, 17 February 2025.
Chen Maanit, Key Committee Approves Netanyahu’s Appointment of David Zini as Next Shin Bet Chief, Haaretz, 25 December 2025.
Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff, Shin Bet officials said threatening to quit if ‘messianic’ Zini confirmed as agency chief, Times of Israel, 26 May 2025.
Chen Maanit, Gov’t, AG Reach Agreement Next Shin Bet Chief Won’t Investigate Qatargate Affair; PM Can Announce Candidate in Two Months, Haaretz, 13 July 2025.
Gidi Weitzand Yaniv Kubovich, ‘Like a Dictatorship’: Netanyahu’s Candidate to Lead Shin Bet Slams Israeli Judicial System, Haaretz, 30 June 2025.
Gideon Levy, Israeli Liberals Are Aghast That Next Shin Bet Chief May Treat Them Like Palestinians, Haaretz, 7 September 2025.
Aviva Guttmann, The Origins of International Counterterrorism: Switzerland at the Forefront of Crisis Negotiations, Multilateral Diplomacy, and Intelligence Cooperation (1969–1977), Brill, 2018, p.181.
Aviva Guttmann, The Origins of International Counterterrorism: Switzerland at the Forefront of Crisis Negotiations, Multilateral Diplomacy, and Intelligence Cooperation (1969–1977), Brill, 2018, p.190.
Devlin Barrett, Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer, Grand Jury Indicts Longtime Trump Target, Former F.B.I. Director James Comey, New York Times, 25 September 2025.
Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel Statements Regarding Indictment of Former FBI Director James Comey, Office of Public Affairs, US Department of Justice, 25 September 2025.
"Russiagate" my you-know-what.