PM appoints Shin Bet deputy as interim chief, even as Bar’s firing remains frozen
Netanyahu’s office says he is continuing to interview candidates for the role, insists dismissed incumbent will be out of office by April 10
Some 48 hours after announcing his decision to appoint Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet and then backtracking, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the deputy head of the security agency will serve as its acting head instead of the incumbent, Ronen Bar.
“Shin,” identified only by his first initial, will serve as acting head of the agency until a permanent chief is appointed, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The PMO insisted the Bar, who was formally fired by the cabinet earlier this month, would vacate the position by April 10. However, he remains in his post after a temporary injunction was imposed on his dismissal by the High Court of Justice, which is hearing petitions against the firing.
The PMO said that it will not be possible to submit a name for Bar’s replacement to the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee in time.
The premier’s office also said that Netanyahu is continuing to interview candidates for the role, including contenders he had previously spoken to (though the court froze Bar’s firing, it allowed Netanyahu to interview candidates to replace him).
Sources said that Netanyahu was focused on candidates from within the agency or who served there in the past, but was also speaking to individuals from outside the Shin Bet.
Netanyahu said he had lost faith in the Bar following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu has sought to shift the responsibility for the colossal failure onto the shoulders of the security establishment, while also refusing to allow the formation of a commission of inquiry to examine the events surrounding and on that day.
Critics of the prime minister have accused him of seeking to fire Bar due to an ongoing Shin Bet probe of alleged ties between Netanyahu’s top aides and Qatar, which backs Hamas. They note that Netanyahu cooperated closely with Bar for over a year after the onslaught, and that Bar had been a key part of Israel’s negotiations team for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Bar has reportedly said he plans to stay in his role until the remaining 59 hostages held in Gaza are home, and a commission of inquiry has been established.
Netanyahu said Tuesday morning that he was backtracking on his decision to appoint former Navy chief Sharvit following a whirlwind day of criticism of the nomination both in Israel and abroad.
“The prime minister thanked Vice Adm. Sharvit for his willingness to serve,” the PMO said in a statement, “but informed him that after further thought, he intends to interview other candidates.”
Netanyahu announced Sharvit on Monday morning as his choice to replace Bar at the head of the agency, in a move that raised eyebrows given both Sharvit’s reported participation in anti-government protests and the ongoing questions — including the court petitions — surrounding Bar’s dismissal.
In the initial announcement Monday, Netanyahu said he had made the decision to tap Sharvit after interviewing “seven worthy candidates.”
Netanyahu faced pressure throughout Monday from political allies, including, reportedly, his family members, to scratch Sharvit’s nomination, due to his participation in massive protests in 2023 against the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary. By early Monday afternoon, reports were already swirling that Netanyahu was likely to undo the selection.
Sharvit also spoke publicly in favor of a 2022 territorial water agreement with Lebanon, which Netanyahu — then the opposition leader — had opposed, and earlier this year, he penned an opinion piece criticizing US President Donald Trump for his climate policies.
On Monday, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Israeli ally, tweeted that the selection of Sharvit as Shin Bet chief was “beyond problematic” due to his anti-Trump remarks.
In a statement by Sharvit circulated by the PMO on Tuesday morning, he said that he was “asked by the prime minister to take on the role of head of the Shin Bet and to continue serving Israel at this difficult time — and so I did.” Nevertheless, he added in the oblique remarks, “serving the good of the country, its security and the safety of its citizens will always be above all else.”
The appointment of Sharvit came as a surprise on Monday, since he was not among the four candidates previously announced.
The Times of Israel Community.