Former Shin Bet chief calls for state inquiry into Oct 7: 'In leadership, it is better to take responsibility for failures'

Former Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar spoke at Tel Aviv University's Cyber ​​Week conference on Tuesday, his first public appearance since leaving office. He criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 tragedy, while calling for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. 

Bar opened his speech by speaking about two victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks: Staff Sergeant Ofir Shoshani, a rookie company commander in the IDF’s Intelligence Corps who was killed at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Hersch Goldberg-Polin, the hostage who was kidnapped and then murdered in a Hamas tunnel last year. He quoted a journal entry from Shoshani, where the young commander talked about her responsibilities towards her soldiers. 

“The role of the company commander is to be the father and mother of the soldiers in the full sense of the word, to be part of the development of the person and to see the process he goes through, to bring my command system to them, the values ​​that I believe in, to be part of their perception as IDF recruits, and to make them better and more thoughtful people and citizens,” Shoshani wrote in her journal.

The former Shin Bet head said that this concept is lacking in today's leadership.

"Responsibility is infinite – you cannot distribute it, only take it. And in leadership, it is better to take responsibility for failures than credit for achievements,” Bar said during his speech. 

“That [the credit] can and should be shared," he continued. “Leadership is based on trust, and in order to give trust, people need to know that you will always give them backup and always take responsibility. This is the back they see when they follow you," he said, apparently criticizing Netanyahu for refusing to publicly take responsibility for the government's failures on the day of the Hamas attack.

Bar added, “Leadership does not end with taking responsibility for the failure, it ends with the responsibility to fix it, just as an operation or project ends with an investigation and drawing lessons.” 

“On that terrible morning – personally, organizationally and nationally – the Shin Bet raised its head and went to war on all fronts.” 

“Our people fought, took risks, evacuated civilians under fire, led unprecedented rescue operations, remained behind the scenes, eliminated terrorists and kept the promise that we gave, that this was our position,” Bar stated, praising the Shin Bet officers who have continued fighting since that day. 

“And we will come and settle accounts with everyone, in Lebanon, in Gaza and all over the world,” Bar vowed. “There are two more architects left to settle accounts with [referring to Hamas senior political figure Khalil al-Hayya, and head of the military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Haddad] and all that remains is to bring back Ran [deceased hostage Ran Gvili].” 

Bar also called for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, saying, "The only way to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the failure, to dispel dangerous conspiracies, to learn what to fix and ensure it doesn't happen again is only through a state commission of inquiry - one that includes professionals, that sees the whole picture and knows how to decide what to do so that it doesn't happen again."

He also warned about the dangers of not carrying out such an investigation, which he said would be suffered by the next generation. 

“I know that this is what Ofir and Hirsch would want. I know that this is what their families want, and I know that this is what our children expect from us. Because as soon as we didn't decide and didn't investigate the entire system, we essentially sentenced them to return next October. So let's stop bickering and enter this process together to learn and with the goal of being better. It was on our watch and therefore it is our responsibility.” 

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who spoke after Bar, and who has called for the establishment of an investigation appointed by the coalition government, not a state commission of inquiry, reiterated his stance.

"There was a huge failure here," Netanyahu acknowledged, without taking any personal responsibility. "This failure must be thoroughly examined. It must examine the political echelon, the military echelon, the security echelon, everyone. And this is only possible if we do it in a broad national investigation committee, which is not tailored to one side or the other."

Netanyahu has argued that a state commission of inquiry, which would by law be appointed by the Supreme Court president, would not be trusted by all Israelis. The coalition government is instead pushing for a government-appointed investigation, with Netanyahu promising that it will have equal representation from the coalition and opposition.

During an April 2025 event commemorating fallen Shin Bet officers, Bar announced that he would step down from his role as head of the security agency. 

“As the head of the organization, I took responsibility – and now, on an evening that symbolizes memory, heroism and sacrifice, I have chosen to announce its implementation, and I have decided to end my role as head of the General Security Service. My love for the homeland and my loyalty to the state are the basis for every decision I have made in my professional life,” Bar said at the time.