Universities said to provide Shin Bet with data on grads
Newspaper reports security service uses information provided by academic institutions for recruitment purposes
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Israeli universities provide the Shin Bet security service with the personal details and contact information of alumni to help it enlist new recruits, Haaretz reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the universities do so on occasion upon formal request by the Shin Bet. They have no choice in the matter, as the Shin Bet is permitted by law to demand information required to fulfill its duties — a clause which the service has apparently interpreted to include recruitment efforts.
A source at one of the universities told Haaretz that the information provided to the Shin Bet included graduates’ names, ID numbers and contact details. It did not, he noted, include their grades.
The newspaper reported that the issue came to light after various social activists received letters of summons from the Shin Bet in recent months stating that “data” held by the organization found them to be potential job candidates.
Meretz Knesset member Tamar Zandberg petitioned the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding to know “why is information being gathered on Israeli citizens who are not suspected of security issues; is such information being gathered on all Israeli citizens or on specific people such as social activists; what type of information is gathered and by which means; what data is used to review the potential compatibility of these people to the Shin Bet and what are the criteria that led to them being contacted.”
The PMO as well as the Shin Bet stated in their responses that the only information gathered was that provided by the academic institutions, though it remains unclear how such data — if it indeed excludes any academic achievements — is used by the organization.
The Times of Israel Community.