Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Eli Sharvit as the Shin Bet chief had been condemned by coalition members due to his participation in the pre-October 7 protests against the judicial reform.

According to a Channel 12 report, government members are pressuring Netanyahu to revoke the appointment, and it is now believed that it will ultimately not materialize.

On March 5, 2023, Sharvit participated in a protest on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv against the government. He also signed a letter the day after the new Netanyahu government was sworn in 2022, warning that “Israeli democracy was at risk.”

More recently, three says after President Trump’s inauguration in January, Sharvit published an op-ed in Calcalist entitled: “Not just a political error: Trump is pushing the Earth into the abyss.” The article slammed Trump for choosing to “revert to polluting energy sources and retreat from green energy investments.”

Ynet quoted a source familiar with the details as saying that Netanyahu was aware of the fact that Sharvit attended a judicial reform protest and decided to go ahead with the appointment anyway since he wasn’t a regular participant in the protests and did not go on stage or speak.

However, the source added that “the article he wrote against Trump can’t be overlooked. It’s not an article from a few years ago but a recent one.” Netanyahu and his associates were not aware of the article, and according to them, it is the reason the appointment will likely be revoked.

Following the announcement on Sharvit’s appointment on Monday morning, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu responded by saying that Sharvit will perpetuate the problem in the Shin Bet. “The main difficulty with Ronen Bar’s conduct is not the persona, but the Kaplanist worldview, which sees democracy as a tool to be interpreted and defended by ‘gatekeepers’ who understand better than the people what is worthy and right for them.

“Replacing a person with a Kaplanist worldview with another person with a similar worldview does not solve the problem, but only continues it in a different framework. If we want to strengthen the democratic system, we must ensure that those at the head of strategic organizations such as the Shin Bet are committed to a concept that respects the will of the people as expressed in democratic election processes.”

Likud MK Taly Gotliv responded by stating: “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 head the Shin Bet? With all due respect. Eli Sharvit took part in the Kaplan demonstrations. The excuse ‘concern for the country’ does not impress me, but teaches me that Sharvit was dragged along. We have all had enough of people being dragged along who are unable to think differently and think outside the box. There is no doubt that Sharvit has many merits, but the head of the Shin Bet these days needs a different and very special DNA. You have no privilege to err here.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)