Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar will step down on June 15, he announced on Monday night.
Bar had already made clear his intention to end his tenure as the head of Israel’s internal security service, and he confirmed the date at the memorial event for fallen Shin Bet personnel at the agency’s headquarters.
“After 35 years of service, to allow for an orderly process of appointing a permanent successor and ensuring a proper handover, I will conclude my role on June 15, 2025,” Bar said. He added that he chose to announce the end of his term “on an evening that symbolizes remembrance, heroism, and sacrifice.”
Bar stated that it was incumbent on every public servant who “failed to provide a blanket of security” on October 7 to “bow their heads humbly before the murdered, the fallen, the wounded, the hostages, and their families, and act accordingly. All of us.
“My love for the homeland and loyalty to the state have been the foundation of every decision I have made throughout my professional life – and so it is this evening as well,” he said.
Bar called to allow for protections to enable the next chief to better do their job
Bar said Israel must allow for institutional protections that would allow the next Shin Bet chiefs to properly fulfil their role, adding that the country “must draw a clear line between trust and loyalty.”
He added that the current proceedings in the High Court of Justice weren’t about him on a personal level, but about the “future independence of Shin Bet chiefs.”
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“Of course, I am prepared to participate in any process the court deems necessary to secure that future.”
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