Protest groups plan huge Jerusalem rally against firing of Shin Bet leader

Dozens of leaders of protest groups on Monday began organizing a major demonstration in Jerusalem this week to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared intention to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he intends to dismiss Bar after months of reports that he was seeking to oust him, with analysts accusing him of seeking to pin the blame for the failures surrounding October 7 on the security services while exonerating his own government.

The collective of protest groups initially announced that they plan to hold a large-scale rally outside government offices as ministers — many of whom have declared support for the move and none of whom has publicly opposed it — meet on Wednesday to vote on Netanyahu’s proposal to fire the security chief.

But when media reports indicated that Netanyahu plans to move up the cabinet meeting to Tuesday, protest organizers followed suit, saying they would take to the streets of the capital a day earlier. As of Monday night, the timing of the scheduled vote had not been finalized.

Eran Schwartz, CEO of the Hofshi B’Artzenu (Free in Our Land) organization, vowed that the groups would not let the government “completely destroy” the country, noting that the Shin Bet is currently investigating several senior staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office for alleged ties with Qatar, thus creating a potential conflict of interest.

“We cannot allow the coalition to fulfill its vision and completely destroy Israel. The protest is the people’s way of expressing their opposition to the regime,” he said, adding that “the majority of the people understand that what is at stake is [either] the future of the coalition or the future of the state.”

Schwartz added that the “dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while he is investigating the prime minister’s associates is not only illegitimate but also illegal, according to the attorney general’s directive.”

Therefore, he said, “we will join with all protest organizations and tens of thousands of citizens to protest against the dismissal of the Shin Bet head, against the [Haredi] draft-dodging law, and against the continuation of the regime coup.”

Additionally, the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, called on Netanyahu to backtrack from his intention to dismiss Bar, labeling it a “destructive” move.

“Israel is in the midst of one of the most difficult periods in its history — from a security, economic and social perspective,” the business forum said in a statement. “The last thing Israel needs is an internal battle in which the prime minister, in a severe conflict of interest, fires gatekeepers, in violation of the law — especially at this difficult time.”

“Israel’s enemies are watching with pleasure as Israel returns to the same path that led the country to the October 7 attack,” the forum warned.

Instead, the forum urged Netanyahu to focus on “what is truly important now: the return of the 59 hostages who were kidnapped under his watch… establishing a state investigation committee, according to the president’s agreement, and rehabilitating deterrence, the economy and society.”

Meanwhile, Education Minister Yoav Kisch threatened to withhold funding from a Tel Aviv school after its principal said he would cancel classes on Wednesday and encourage students to join the protest in Jerusalem.

In a missive to teachers, Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium’s Ze’ev Degani said Israel’s “democracy is on the verge of collapse.”

“We can no longer remain silent. The prime minister is turning the country into a dictatorship by acting against the law. On Wednesday, it will be impossible to teach history and math at school,” he said.

In a video statement, Kisch said Degani “is a criminal. His decision to shut down classes and send students to a political protest is a severe and direct violation of the Compulsory Education Law.”

The education minister vowed that “we will not allow schools to become arenas for political clashes… Degani and the management board of Herzliya Gymnasium have been summoned for an urgent hearing on Wednesday.”

Kisch added that “if the school is indeed shut down, the funding Herzliya Gymnasium receives from the education system will be immediately suspended.”

Although Bar has expressed his intention to eventually resign over his agency’s failure to anticipate the October 7 attack, he was said to be pushing back against the effort to oust him, fearing that acquiescence would allow Netanyahu to appoint a loyalist in his stead.

The Shin Bet head was reportedly planning to remain in his post until all the hostages were returned from Gaza and a state commission of inquiry was established to probe the failures surrounding October 7.

Jon Polin, whose son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was kidnapped on October 7 and murdered in late August by his Hamas captors, wrote on social media that Bar had conducted himself with nobility and shown the utmost humanity over the past 17 months.

“We have met many people in positions of power in the past 528 terrible days,” wrote Polin. “One of those people who has shown the highest level of personal accountability, integrity, decency and humanity is Ronen Bar.”

“While admitting his responsibility for the failure of October 7 and saying he will step down, Ronen has been committed to bringing home all hostages, returning the security of the State of Israel, strengthening national unity, and most recently, to establishing a national commission of inquiry that will examine everything and everyone, including himself,” Polin wrote.

“There is a nobility in how Ronen Bar has conducted himself in these 528 black days,” he added.

In a lengthy statement following Netanyahu’s announcement on Sunday night, Bar charged that the decision to fire him was unrelated to the agency’s failures surrounding the October 7 attack, but rather due to a personal issue.

“The duty of loyalty placed on the Shin Bet is first and foremost to Israeli citizens. This underlies all my actions and decisions,” Bar said. “The prime minister’s expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation. It is contrary to the Shin Bet law and contrary to the patriotic values that guide the Shin Bet and its members.”

Bar noted that the Shin Bet’s internal review of the failures that led to October 7 “pointed to a policy led by the government, and the person who has headed it, for years, with emphasis on the year preceding the massacre. The investigation showed a longstanding and deliberate disregard by the political echelon for the agency’s warnings.”

He said he intended to continue in his role until the hostages are returned, until he completes several “sensitive” investigations — likely those related to the Prime Minister’s Office — and until his potential successors are ready.

While Hebrew media reported that a vote on Bar’s dismissal would take place in a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu on Sunday night that he could not “initiate a dismissal process” of Bar “until the factual and legal basis underlying your decision is fully examined, as well as your authority to address the matter at this time.”

She explained that the reason for this was “the extraordinary sensitivity of the issue, its unprecedented nature, the concern that the process may be tainted by illegality and conflict of interest, and considering that the role of the head of the Shin Bet is not a personal trust position serving the prime minister.”

Responding to the attorney general, Justice Minister Yariv Levin argued that “the government has the authority to terminate the service of the head of the agency before the end of their term. This law should be known to the attorney general.”