Shin Bet Chief David Zini Says Agency Is Subordinate to Central Elections Committee

Shin Bet chief David Zini said Thursday that the agency he leads is subordinate to the Central Elections Committee when it comes to the upcoming national vote, after controversy over his remarks that he was loyal to Israel’s “elected leadership.”

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Haaretz

Zini held a meeting Thursday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem with President Isaac Herzog and Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, where the participants stressed their commitment to “ensuring the integrity of the election,” according to a readout from Herzog’s office.

Haaretz

In audio first leaked and later published by the Shin Bet, Zini said he accepted the role of agency chief because of his ability to be “loyal to the elected leadership,” and he framed the election-related mandate as direct subordination to the chair of the Central Elections Committee.

Herzog, speaking Wednesday at a National Security College graduation ceremony, said Israel’s “security and law enforcement bodies are not loyal to any individual or political camp, but to the sovereign — the people of Israel, the laws of the State of Israel and the the values of the Jewish and democratic state.”

Opposition leaders reacted sharply to Zini’s comments, with Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan accusing him of blurring the line between serving the government and serving the state.

Golan wrote on X that “The recorded confession by Zini exposes one of the most dangerous statements ever made by someone who headed a security system in Israel,” and he warned that a security service guided by loyalty to political leadership rather than the law could become “a tool that serves a government seeking to hold onto power.”

The Jerusalem Post

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir defended Zini, saying the Shin Bet chief had expressed a basic democratic principle and pointing to Zini’s claim that “I am subordinate to the elected leadership.”

In the same controversy, Zini told the Argaman Institute conference that he was obligated to serve elected officials, saying “I have an internal engine, I have worldviews. I am not a puppet that moves with the wind.”

The loyalty dispute unfolded alongside remarks by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir about Israel’s security challenges, including his assessment that the country is in “one of the most challenging periods the country and the defense establishment have ever faced.”

“President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday at the graduation ceremony of the National Security College that Israel’s security and law enforcement bodies are committed to the state and the public, not to any individual or political camp”

The Jerusalem Post

Zamir said “October 7 and the thousand days of war that have passed since are not only a wound, they are our operational compass,” and he added that “Even if a new chapter opens, the campaign continues; it only changes form.”

The Times of Israel also reported that Zini asked the Justice Ministry to seek Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s approval for an investigation into an alleged leak to Channel 12 about the date on which the war with Iran would begin earlier this year.

In that report, Zini said “More than 4,500 people were privy to the secret [war plans], and there is no lead,” and he argued that “an investigation of this kind, involving media outlets, requires the attorney general’s approval.”