Skip to main content

Netanyahu vs. Shin Bet: A Crisis at the Heart of Israeli Democracy



In a jaw-dropping affidavit filed with Israel’s Supreme Court, Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet—Israel’s domestic security agency—accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pressuring him to spy on anti-government protesters and demanding personal loyalty over adherence to the law. The sworn statement has sent shockwaves through Israeli politics, offering a rare and scathing view from inside the nation’s top security institution.

Bar's affidavit, submitted in response to Netanyahu’s recent attempt to fire him, paints a troubling picture: not only did the prime minister seek illegal surveillance on dissenting citizens, but he also expected Bar to side with him over Supreme Court rulings in case of a constitutional crisis. The Shin Bet chief stated that he was compelled to speak out due to fears for the agency’s future independence and professionalism.



                Ronen Bar 

The tensions reportedly intensified after Bar opened investigations into Netanyahu aides suspected of leaking classified military documents and potential foreign influence in Israeli media—a case nicknamed Qatargate.” Bar claims these investigations, not a lack of professional trust, triggered Netanyahu’s desire to dismiss him.

In a dramatic twist, Bar also alleged that Netanyahu attempted to involve him in undermining his own ongoing corruption trial, pressuring him to sign a fabricated security opinion to halt proceedings. Bar refused.

The Prime Minister’s office responded quickly, calling the affidavit false and promising to disprove its claims. However, the damage may already be done. Opposition leaders, including Yair Lapid and Yair Golan, have called the affidavit a wake-up call, warning that Netanyahu poses a direct threat to Israel’s democracy and national security.

The court received a classified 31-page version of the affidavit, including appendices that likely contain explosive detail. Meanwhile, Bar announced he would soon step down, reiterating earlier promises made following his agency’s failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.

While Bar acknowledged the Shin Bet’s shortcomings in Gaza and Lebanon, he stressed that it was only after his investigations and refusal to politicize the agency that Netanyahu turned against him. The scandal reveals more than a political rivalry—it exposes deep cracks in the balance of power and the rule of law in Israel.

As Israel grapples with war abroad and unrest at home, the revelations from its top security chief raise a disturbing question: Who is guarding the guardians?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Delivering the Dead: How the World Watches Gaza Bleed.

  Delivering the Dead: How the World Watches Gaza Bleed “ I delivered a beheaded woman who was nine months pregnant. ” That’s not a horror-film script. That’s not medieval history. That is the testimony of an Australian medic standing in a Gaza hospital in 2025, describing what it means to “ practice medicine ” under Israeli bombardment. A nine-months-pregnant woman , decapitated , her body torn open so that the child she carried could be pulled out lifeless — and somehow this is still not enough to shake the comfortable democracies of the West into anything resembling a conscience. We should probably give the Nobel Prize for Creative Euphemism to the politicians who still call this “self-defense.” After all, there’s nothing quite as defensive as severing the head of an expectant mother and forcing foreign doctors to deliver her dead child in the rubble of what used to be a hospital . Bravo, civilization . The tragedy is not just the atrocity itself. It’s the smug perfo...

Docu Drama. The voice of Hind Rajab.

The Red Phone Rings, but the World Hits Mute The world just gave a 23-minute standing ovation —yes, twenty-three full minutes of clapping —for The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Venice Film Festival . Applause so long it could’ve filled Hind’s final desperate phone call to the Red Crescent. Bravo, humanity. We couldn’t save her when it mattered, but at least we can applaud her ghost. This is the new morality play: a five-year-old Palestinian child, trapped in a bullet-riddled car , whispering “please come, I’m scared ,” while surrounded by the corpses of her family. The Red Crescent tried . Paramedics drove toward her and were killed too . Israel buried them in silence . And the “ civilized world ”? It buried her in its news cycle . But now—don’t worry— we have a movie . Starring Hind’s voice. Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Produced by an ensemble of Hollywood conscience-bearers : Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Glazer, Jemima Khan , and others. ...

The End of Zionism? Welcome to the Funeral Nobody Wants to Admit Is Overdue

  Of course. Haaretz recently published an opinion piece by Ithamar Handelman -Smith titled “ Some Say It’s the End of Zionism, and I Say That’s All Right .” And what impeccable timing: as Israel carries out a near-two-year campaign of siege, famine, and bombardment in Gaza — slaughtering families, burying aid workers with their ambulances, and literally starving children to death — someone in Israel finally whispers the unspeakable: maybe Zionism, that 20th-century project of “ Jewish salvation ,” has outlived its moral shelf life. Bravo. The house is burning, bodies are scattered in the street, and the philosopher shows up with a garden hose . Zionism: Success Story or Crime Scene? Handelman-Smith argues that Zionism achieved its success : a Jewish state, a safe haven, a fortress against the ghosts of Europe’s crimes . But like every “ success story ” drenched in other people’s blood , it didn’t age well. What began as refuge turned into domination; what was called “ ...

Dockers of Conscience: Italy’s Brave Guardians of Gaza

  At a time when most governments avert their eyes , when institutions choose silence over principle, it is often the hands hardened by real work — the hands of dockworkers— that lift the banner of humanity. In Genoa , those hands belong to the members of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) and the dockworkers’ collective CALP ( Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali ) . These are not new voices. For years they have stood where conscience demands —on the cold concrete of the docks , blocking ships laden with weapons destined for wars , refusing to let Italy’s ports be complicit in bloodshed. USB , born in 2010 out of grassroots struggles , has carried a proud history of international solidarity. Its members have consistently placed labor at the service of justice, from strikes against austerity to protests against militarism . CALP , forged in Genoa’s port , has a more direct history with Palestine: blocking Israeli-bound weapons , organizing boycotts, and declaring, time ...

Britain’s Recognition of Palestine: A Century of Complicity in Disguise.

So we’ve reached this moment: Keir Starmer’s UK “ recognises the State of Palestine. ” Applause lines up. Speeches made. Headlines dazzled. But behind the pomp, the guns, the exports, the intelligence, the training — history rings out in mocking laughter. Because Britain has been complicit since day one. This recognition is not redemption . It’s theatre. 1. The Original Sin: Balfour Declaration Let’s go back. Because if you don’t know your history, you’ll be fooled by the future. On 2 November 1917 , Arthur James Balfour (Britain’s Foreign Secretary) wrote to Lord Rothschild, and officially declared: “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object , it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine , or the rights and political sta...