Netanyahu reportedly asked Ronen Bar to act against protest leader Gonen Ben Yitzhak
PM’s office calls report that the ‘Crime Minister’ activist was among those Netanyahu wanted Shin Bet to act against ‘another lie’; denies loyalty raised in interviews for Bar’s replacement
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
One of the anti-government activists whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to act against is attorney and former Shin Bet agent Gonen Ben Yitzhak, Israeli television reported Tuesday.
In an affidavit Bar filed Monday to the High Court of Justice, Ronen alleged that Netanyahu had asked him on more than one occasion to use the resources and authority of the Shin Bet domestic security agency against activists in the movement protesting the government’s judicial overhaul agenda, which was advanced in 2023.
“The prime minister expressed to me, on more than one occasion, his desire to see the Shin Bet act against citizens involved in protest activity and demonstrations against the government,” Bar told the court, adding that he was asked to provide information “about the identities of Israeli citizens and protest activists” who had followed government officials with security details.
In a separate confidential affidavit, Bar went into further details about the people Netanyahu asked him to act against, including Ben Yitzhak, according to Channel 12 news.
Ben Yitzhak was one of the founders of the “Crime Minister” political action group, which was founded to protest against Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister due to the corruption allegations, and later the indictment, against him.
Ben Yitzhak was a central figure in protests outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem and was arrested in 2018 when he stepped in front of Netanyahu’s cavalcade during a visit to the city of Beit She’an.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement denying the allegations in the TV report, describing it as “another lie by Ronen Bar.”
“The prime minister never requested to harass any protest activists, but rather requested the obvious from the head of the Shin Bet — to fulfill his duty against lawbreakers who threaten his life and the life of his family, and who breach the security circle,” said the statement.
Candidates for Shin Bet head said asked about loyalty to PM
Separately Tuesday, Channel 13 news reported that candidates for the job of Shin Bet chief who Netanyahu interviewed in recent weeks have said that the question of their loyalty to the prime minister arose during the interview.
As part of his High Court affidavit, Bar alleged that he was fired last month for being insufficiently loyal to Netanyahu and for taking a series of decisions which the prime minister saw as hostile, including opening criminal investigations into the premier’s close aides.
Bar also said that it had been made clear to him that in the event of a constitutional crisis, he was expected to obey Netanyahu and not legal orders by the High Court.
According to Channel 13, in some of the recent interviews for candidates for head of the Shin Bet, Netanyahu discussed the ongoing struggle between the government and the judiciary.
“The expression ‘constitutional crisis’ did not arise explicitly, but issues connected to the relationship between the government and the Shin Bet did come up,” the report quoted one interviewee as saying.
The Prime Minister’s Office described the report as “total fake news, and cheap gossip.”
Also Tuesday, Hebrew media outlets reported that Netanyahu’s office asked the High Court to seek clarification from Bar as to when he intends to resign from his post.
Bar stated in the affidavit that he intends to resign in the near future, but did not specify when. An organization of families of fallen soldiers said Tuesday that Bar promised the group he would step down by May 15.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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