Tapping of ex-navy chief to lead Shin Bet draws mixed reactions on both sides of aisle
Heritage minister says Eli Sharvit is of the same mold as fired predecessor; opposition MK Gantz cautions appointment should wait until High Court hearing on Ronen Bar
Coalition and opposition figures issued mixed responses Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s naming of Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit as the next Shin Bet chief, with supporters lauding Sharvit’s character and critics slamming both his politics and the timing of the announcement.
Sharvit was tapped to replace the security agency’s current leader, Ronen Bar, whom the cabinet voted to dismiss earlier this month, with Netanyahu citing a lack of trust. Bar has not been formally relieved from his post, with a temporary injunction imposed on his dismissal by the High Court of Justice. While the court froze Bar’s firing, it allowed Netanyahu to interview candidates to replace him.
After the announcement, Hebrew media swiftly recalled that Sharvit had, in 2023, as a civilian, participated in Tel Aviv protests against the government’s flagship judicial overhaul that sparked months of mass demonstrations due to concerns it would dangerously erode Israel’s democratic nature. Sharvit also gave an interview in which he praised a 2022 territorial water agreement with Lebanon under the previous government, which Netanyahu — then the opposition leader — had opposed.
National Unity leader Benny Gantz said that Sharvit has “values and experience” but that he should not be appointed to head the Shin Bet until the High Court has ruled on Netanyahu’s firing of Bar.
“Sharvit is an excellent man and commander, with values and experience. An independent man who has always been guided by the interests of Israel’s security, and I have no doubt that this will continue to be the case in the future,” said Gantz, who was chief of the Israel Defense Forces when Sharivt served as chief of staff in the Navy.
“However, what is clear is that the prime minister decided this morning to continue his campaign against the judicial system and lead the State of Israel toward a dangerous constitutional crisis. The appointment of a head of the Shin Bet must be made only after a High Court decision,” Gantz said.
National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot welcomed the appointment, calling Sharvit “a leader and commander with a professional and ethical backbone who excelled in all his roles in the IDF.”
Eisenkot, who took over command of the IDF from Gantz and was its chief when Sharvit headed the Navy, said that years of acquaintance with Sharvit led him to believe that “he will advance the organization according to its mission and will be loyal to the country.”
Opposition Yisrael Beytenu party chair Avigdor Liberman told the Kan public broadcaster that while Sharvit was an “excellent” commander, his appointment “raises many questions.”
“I know Sharvit, he was an excellent Navy commander,” said Liberman, a former defense minister who held the role when Sharvit commanded the Navy. “[However] He has no intelligence background, he has no training in that, no relevant knowledge, so the considerations that led to his appointment raise many questions.”
The Democrats chief Yair Golan said Sharvit will need to prove he is loyal to the law and the country, rather than to Netanyahu himself.
“Sharvit is a worthy and decent man. His appointment as head of the Shin Bet will be subject to approval by the High Court of Justice,” Golan wrote on X.
“However, his appointment by a prime minister who has launched an attack on the rule of law and democratic Israel poses a huge challenge to him,” Golan wrote.
“This is not a normal period, and this is not a normal appointment. Every Shin Bet chief faces pressure, but they have never been required to face a prime minister who is determined to dismantle the institutions of democracy to escape the threat of justice,” Golan said, referring to the judicial overhaul; the firing of Bar and a similar move to dismiss the attorney-general; a Shin Bet probe of alleged ties between Netanyahu’s top aides and Qatar, which backs terror group Hamas; and the prime minister’s ongoing graft trial.
Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz, a former deputy public security minister, posted to X that the debate is not about Sharvit’s character, “but rather the fact that Netanyahu, a week before the High Court hearing [on Bar], at the height of the Qatargate affair, names a replacement for the head of the Shin Bet — even before the hearing.”
“This is crossing a line of disobedience to High Court rulings on the part of Netanyahu,” he wrote.
There was also criticism of the Sharvit’s selection from coalition members, including Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
He said the central difficulty with Bar was not his personality but his worldview, shared by those who protested against the judicial overhaul — including Sharvit — “that sees democracy as a tool that should be interpreted and protected using ‘gatekeepers’ who know better than the people what is good for them.”
Replacing one such person “with another one of a similar worldview doesn’t solve the problem, it just continues it in another framework,” Eliyahu wrote on X.
MK Tally Gotliv of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party also spoke out against the appointment in a post to X.
“Mr Prime Minister, who is whispering in your ear? What’s going on here? Are there no excellent, brave, and experienced right-wing people to lead the Shin Bet?”
In the hours after the announcement of Sharvit’s selection, amid the reports of his past participation in protests, Kan reported that Netanyahu said in private discussions he was unaware of Sharvit’s political activities. Unsourced reports said that senior Likud and coalition lawmakers were pressing the prime minister to select a different candidate to head the Shin Bet.
The Times of Israel Community.