Draining the swamp or war on Israel? Israeli politicians react to Netanyahu firing Shin Bet chief
Israeli politicians praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his announcement that he planned to ask the government to fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar in various posts on Sunday evening.
Former national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) wrote that he viewed the move as a way to eliminate the deep state in Israeli politics.
“I commend the Prime Minister for the decision to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet. This is something I have demanded for a long time—better late than never,” he wrote in a Sunday post on X/Twitter.
“There is no place in a democratic state for officials who act in a politically adversarial manner against elected representatives.
“The Right must learn from President Trump to eradicate the deep state, operate as a democracy, and restore public trust in Israel’s security and judicial institutions.”
War on Israeli society
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett asserted that Netanyahu should have finished his tenure long ago.
“Mr. Netanyahu bears ultimate responsibility for the worst failure in Israel’s history and should have resigned long ago,” he wrote.
“His passive and defeatist policy has allowed Hamas and Hezbollah to build themselves into terror powerhouses on our borders for 15 years. As he wrote in his own book, even when I demanded the destruction of Hamas, he blocked it and even took pride in doing so.”
While he did mention that there were multiple high-level security failures on October 7, he said that those leaders had all taken responsibility.
“Netanyahu, in contrast, is running from his own responsibility,” he wrote. “The State of Israel will not be able to recover without his resignation.”
Former defense minister and deputy prime minister Benny Gantz (National Unity) wrote that Netanyahu’s proposal was purely for the prime minister’s political reasons.
“The dismissal of the Shin Bet chief is a direct hit to national security and the dismantling of unity in Israeli society for political and personal reasons,” he said.
National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot wrote in a post on Facebook that Netanyahu had crossed the line with Bar’s dismissal and claimed that the prime minister was threatening democracy.
“On 11/10/23 at 17:00, I entered the Prime Minister’s Office and encountered a leadership and a prime minister who had lost their composure. The heads of the security establishment (who bear responsibility for the failure alongside the prime minister) were the only beacon of light in the darkness of panic,” he wrote.
“Netanyahu has lost the moral right to continue in his position and is entrenching himself with an extortionist and self-serving coalition that acts against Israel’s security and national interests.”
He further claimed that the decision had “nothing to do with the good of the state.”
“Netanyahu, who operates without public trust, is carrying out a purge of the heads of the security and law enforcement systems and is threatening democracy,” he said. “The timing and manner of the dismissal, against the backdrop of investigations into the prime minister’s close circle, necessitate mass protests and a broad public and political struggle until his swift replacement through democratic means.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in Sunday post that he believed that the prime minister was pushing to fire Bar because of the Qatar-gate investigations.
“For a year and a half, he saw no reason to dismiss him, but only when the investigation into Qatar’s infiltration of Netanyahu’s office and the funds transferred to his closest aides began, it suddenly became urgent to fire him immediately,” he said.
“Ronen Bar has repeatedly stated that he would resign and take responsibility for his role in the October 7 disaster once the hostages are returned home. He is the senior professional in the negotiations, and his dismissal at this time is irresponsible and demonstrates a lack of commitment to the fate of the hostages.”
The Opposition leader wrote that his party would petition against the dismissal, which he believed was clearly proposed to “obstruct a serious criminal investigation into the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Ronen Bar has dedicated his life to defending Israel, risking his life many times to protect the state and its citizens,” Lapid continued. “The disgraceful way in which Netanyahu is trying to fire him reflects a loss of composure and a collapse of values.
“Once again, Netanyahu is putting his personal interests above the good of the country and its security. No amount of smears or attempts to shift the blame for the failure onto the security establishment will help Netanyahu. He is the main person responsible for the failure and disaster of October 7, and that is all he will be remembered for,” he wrote.
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan wrote that Netanyahu’s announcement marked a dark day for Israeli society, and called for “massive opposition.”
“Netanyahu has declared war on the State of Israel,” he said. “The dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a desperate attempt by a criminal defendant to get rid of someone loyal to Israel, who is investigating Netanyahu and his close associates for serious and dark crimes and refuses to cover them up.
“The more the investigations around him expand and reveal problematic connections, the more Netanyahu descends into hysteria—inciting, firing, threatening, and trying to eliminate the gatekeepers.”
“We will fight with full force and will not allow Netanyahu to turn the State of Israel into the dictatorship of a corrupt man,” he wrote.
A much-needed shift
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote that Netanyahu’s decision was “better late than never.”
“It would have been appropriate for the Shin Bet chief to take real responsibility and resign on his own initiative more than a year ago, sparing the need for his dismissal,” Smotrich said. “After such a fundamental failure as the one that occurred on Simchat Torah, responsibility demanded that he step down long ago. His clinging to the position and the publicly stated justifications for it are an act of audacity, arrogance, and the very opposite of democracy.”
He also said that Bar’s disagreements with political leaders were yet another reason he could not remain as head of the Shin Bet.
Smotrich finished the post by acknowledging Bar for his “decades of dedicated service to national security.”
“It is the Prime Minister’s right and duty to end the tenure of one who has betrayed the trust given to him, to lead a state organization to its purpose and its purpose alone,” Diaspora Minister and Likud MK Amichai Chikli wrote in a X/Twitter post.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) wrote that Bar’s dismissal was of the utmost priority.
“The dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is the need of the hour—an existential and immediate necessity. The head of Israel’s secret service has turned himself into a dictator with the backing of the attorney-general.”
“Bar is one of the main figures responsible for the disaster of October 7, and he now continues to undermine Israel’s security and erode democracy under the guise of security authority. His dismissal is a crucial step in restoring public trust and halting the erosion of Israel’s democratic foundations,” Karhi wrote.
“In a democracy, the public elects its representatives, and they are the ones who appoint and dismiss officials from the executive branch based on their performance and the level of trust between the parties,” Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) wrote.
“Opponents of the government should look toward the United States (where this works perfectly) before they start acting out.”
He wrote that he would “fully support” the Shin Bet chief’s dismissal, as well as that of Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara.
Former MK Yoav Kisch wrote that he would support Bar’s firing at Wednesday’s government meeting.
“After the failure on the evening of 7.10 and the conclusion of the investigations, and especially when the trust between the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet was damaged, the head of the Shin Bet must end his role,” he wrote.
“It would have been preferable for him to resign on his own initiative. Since that did not happen, the prime minister is right in his decision to bring about his dismissal.”
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