Shin Bet chief reveals PM urged him to tell corruption trial judges it wasn’t safe for him to testify

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reveals that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly demanded that he inform the judges in the premier’s corruption trial that Netanyahu should not be allowed to regularly testify in court due to security reasons.

In a letter to the High Court of Justice ahead of its hearing on petitions against the government’s decision to fire him, Bar says his refusal to heed Netanyahu’s request led to a breakdown in trust between them. Netanyahu cited his lack of trust in Bar as the reason for his removal.

Bar says he adhered to his job’s requirement that he maintain “professional independence,” rather than act out of personal loyalty to the premier.

Netanyahu’s demands were ostensibly made last year when Israel was still dealing with a second front from the north. While Netanyahu sought to have the trial postponed indefinitely due to concerns about Hezbollah drone strikes on the Jerusalem District Court, where he was slated to testify several times a week for hours on end, the judges decided to move proceedings to the Tel Aviv District Court, which has a fortified basement.

The Shin Bet chief urges the court to reverse the government’s decision to fire him.

“The significance of advancing hastily carried out termination proceedings during a sensitive period, while criminal investigations are being conducted into the prime minister’s associates, without due process and detailed allegations against me and without giving me a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations, would convey a clear message to the entire chain of command in the Shin Bet, including to the next heads of the agency, that if one falls out of favor with the political echelon, they will immediately be fired,” Bar writes.