Shin Bet is the main target of the right-wing minister’s campaign
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was the target of a media campaign on Sunday, financed by Israeli Security Minister Itamar Be-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party. The complaint blamed Bar for the failures that led to the October 7 Hamas massacre and accused him of bringing further disaster upon Israel through a ceasefire and hostage exchange.
Ben-Gvir walked out of a cabinet meeting last week after Bar warned in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet members that settler violence in the West Bank posed a threat to Israel.
According to a report, Bar claimed that Ben-Gvir’s actions would “lead to widespread bloodshed and fundamentally change the character of the State of Israel,” and stressed that “a cross-departmental effort is needed to eradicate this phenomenon. I am convinced that this must be one of the government’s central goals – before it is too late. This phenomenon poses a significant risk to regional security.” He also warned of possible “revenge attacks.”
At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, just hours after Israel launched a preemptive strike against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and hundreds of rockets and drones were fired at Israel, some ministers spoke out against Ben-Gvir’s attacks on Bar in the middle of a war.
“I was shocked when I opened the newspaper this morning and saw that you are using state funds to attack the head of the Shin Bet,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Education Minister Yoav Kisch echoed his position, saying: “This is outrageous; it is inappropriate, especially during a war.”
When ministers spoke out against and for Ben-Gvir’s campaign, Netanyahu only intervened when Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party asked him to do so.
“Isn’t Bar the head of the same intelligence agency that you praised today?” he asked. Netanyahu then said criticism of Bar was allowed, but had to be appropriate.
Today we must all be united. The enemy sees our division and our broken unity. We must show him that we are united in our fight against evil,” he said.
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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
(Photo: Arnon Segal)
In response to the attacks on Bar, 169 former senior defense officials and members of the Defensive Shield forum sent a letter of support to the head of the Shin Bet.
“Under your leadership, the Shin Bet faces numerous challenges, especially the fight against terrorism,” they wrote. “Unfortunately, the service has also had to deal with Jewish terrorism recently. We would like to offer our support to you and all Shin Bet employees in the face of wild and crude attacks by ministers whose Kahane-inspired legacy influences the decisions of the Israeli government. Especially now, when the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and other security agencies are engaged in daily battles.”
“Today, Shin Bet employees were confronted with a smear campaign financed with public money. We assert that attempts to weaken the security establishment and intimidate its leaders into not expressing their professional opinions will undermine Israel and harm its security.”
