End of a saga: PM Netanyahu's candidate Zini approved as next Shin Bet chief

The advisory committee for senior appointments, chaired by retired Israeli Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, on Thursday unanimously approved the appointment of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet, formally known as the Israel Security Agency (ISA).

This was despite harsh letters of opposition sent by former Shin Bet chiefs and additional objections submitted to the committee.

The committee concluded that Zini, along with other parties who provided testimony, refuted the statements attributed to him concerning disobedience to the rule of law

The committee concluded that, within the mandate granted to it for examining integrity, there was no reason to disqualify the candidacy of Major-General (res.) Zini for the role. Now, petitions to the High Court of Justice on the matter are expected.

In his opinion submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, retired Justice Grunis wrote that Zini, before the committee, denied ever saying that subordination to the prime minister overrides subordination to the law.

According to Zini, the head of the Shin Bet is indeed subordinate to the prime minister, but the prime minister, in turn, is subordinate to the law.

Zini repeatedly emphasized his own subordination to the law, but added that he would not consider himself bound by the law if, for example, a law required him to eat pork.

“It emerges from the material that there were indeed instances in which Prime Minister [Netanyahu] asked Shin Bet heads to carry out actions that are inappropriate in a democratic regime,” the document submitted to Netanyahu stated. “These requests were made without the presence of a third person and without documentation.”

“It should be expected that if Maj.-Gen. (res.) Zini is appointed head of the service; he will understand and know that subordination to the prime minister and government does not justify certain actions that do not broadly align with democratic norms, and concretely, with integrity,” Grunis wrote.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke with Zini and congratulated him on the approval of his appointment: “Cooperation between the organizations is critical to the security of the state, and the IDF, and I personally, will stand behind him as needed so that he succeeds in his role.”

Last week, Kan News reported that the previous Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, who testified before the committee, presented a “softened” stance regarding Zini’s appointment as his successor.

Kan News also revealed that Zini himself denied the statements attributed to him.

Four former Shin Bet heads – Nadav Argaman, Yoram Cohen, Ami Ayalon, and Carmi Gillon – submitted objections to Zini’s appointment. Cohen argued in his letter to the committee that there is a real possibility Zini could be influenced by Netanyahu in ways not consistent with the law.

“Given the sensitivity of the role and the scope of its authority, there is concern that the candidate may be directed by the one who appointed him, and may use his powers in ways that do not meet professional standards, and possibly even not in accordance with the law,” Cohen wrote.

Cohen’s letter also relayed an account from former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, who described the events following Iran’s hack of former Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s phone.

According to Cohen, during one of the election cycles after the publication of the exit polls, Netanyahu asked Argaman to declare that Gantz was “compromised” and unfit to serve as prime minister.

“One can only surmise what the prime minister’s motives were in making such a request of Shin Bet chief Argaman, when, as noted, this was essentially an unfounded smear against a political rival.”