The new investigation that broke on Tuesday marks yet another front in the quickly escalating battle between the government on one hand, and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service) head and attorney-general on the other.
The following is a roadmap of the relevant facts.
Channel 12’s Amit Segal revealed on March 23 a document that appeared to be the summary of comments made by Ronen Bar in a meeting six months earlier, on September 26.
According to the summary, Bar said, “We have indicated the spread of Kahanism in law enforcement institutions as a dangerous phenomenon, whose prevention is part of the Shin Bet’s authority.” He added that, “due to the involvement of the political echelon, the issue needed to be treated “sensibly and with extra caution.”
Bar concluded: “Evidence and testimony should continue to be collected of the involvement of the political echelon in the activity of the security echelon, directed at using force in a way that is against the law – and to come with a number of findings.”
According to Segal, the directives in the document came following events on the Temple Mount on August 13, the Tisha B’av fast. National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the sensitive site and announced that the status quo had changed, and that Jews were now allowed to pray there. Videos showed visitors praying freely. The prime minister’s office later that day put out a statement denying any change to the status quo.
According to the Channel 12 journalist, Bar instructed soon after to examine whether Ben-Gvir had intervened in order for police officers to enable the prayer. According to Segal, no evidence to that effect was found. However, a few weeks later, Bar still made the aforementioned comments regarding the spread of Kahanism in the police.
The security agency responded to Segal’s report in March that “there has been no Shin Bet investigation on the matter, neither towards the police nor the political echelon, and no such investigation is currently taking place.” However, the agency asserted its right to investigate the matter in principle, based on the fact that it was tasked by law to oppose terrorism, and that Kahana Chai is considered by law to be a terror organization.
The Kahane Chai (“Kahane is Alive”) movement, or its acronym “Kach” for short, is named after Rabbi Meir Kahane, who formed a political party with that name that was active in Israel from 1971 until 1988, when it was outlawed and banned from running. The movement, which endorses racist policies against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.
Ben-Gvir, who oversees the Israeli police, belonged to the movement in the past. Although he has since declared that he is no longer affiliated with it, in recent years he has attended and spoke at memorial ceremonies for Kahane.
The Police Investigations Department (PID), which is responsible for investigating Shin Bet members, requested a gag order on April 3 regarding an investigation into the source of the leak to Segal. The request was approved on April 6. The suspect in the case, a Shin Bet official, was arrested on April 9. The PID received approval to prevent him from having a meeting with a lawyer at first, but the suspect has met his lawyers since. The department on Tuesday did not challenge a request to drop the gag order, after it was violated by Likud MK Tally Gotliv.
“According to suspicions, the suspect took advantage of his security role and the access awarded him to the Shin Bet systems, and passed classified information on a number of opportunities to unauthorized figures,” The PID said in a statement. The suspect’s lawyers revealed that the figures in question were Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli and journalists Amit Segal (Channel 12) and Shirit Avitan Cohen (Yisrael Hayom).
According to the lawyers, the leak to Segal and Chikli was the aforementioned document. The leak to Avitan Cohen was material from the Shin Bet’s investigation into the October 7 massacre that was not published. The lawyers argued that in both cases, the suspect’s intention was to “convey information of immense public importance with the intention of bringing it to public attention, while ensuring that no security-related information was disclosed.”
Ben-Gvir resigned from the government in January over his opposition to the hostage deal with Hamas. Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could not legally reappoint Ben-Gvir due to an ongoing petition in the High Court against alleged illegal involvement in police operations against protesters. Netanyahu ignored the warning. The case is pending in the High Court.
In a previous filing in the case, prior to Ben-Gvir’s resignation in January, Baharav-Miara urged Netanyahu to reconsider the initial appointment of Ben-Gvir to the position. She included a list of alleged infractions that showed the involvement of police operations against anti-government protesters.
Another alleged involvement was with police operations against Jewish terror in the West Bank. This developed into a criminal investigation and the suspension of former Judea and Samaria Police chief Avishai Moalem. Moalem allegedly lowered enforcement against acts of violence by Jews against Palestinians, in exchange for a promotion.
Israel Prison Chief Koby Yaakoby was also investigated on suspicion that he alerted Moalem regarding the suspicions, which were covert at the time. An indictment has not been filed yet in the case.
A series of leaked recordings of conversations between the head of the Shin Bet’s Jewish division and Moalem emerged over the past week, in which the former seemingly demanded illegal enforcement acts including unwarranted arrests and interment in harsh conditions. The head of the Jewish division apologized and suspended himself.
Amidst the shadow of Qatargate
These events occurred in the shadow of the “Qatargate” investigation and the government’s decision to fire Bar. The Shin Bet and police are currently investigating business ties between Qatari state officials and at least three current or past advisers of Netanyahu.
The government fired Bar on March 20, citing a “lack of trust” in him and his failure to prevent the October 7 massacre. The firing was approved despite warnings from the attorney-general about the lack of due process. The A-G also argued that the Qatargate investigation put Netanyahu in a conflict of interest, and therefore the firing was illegal.
The government’s decision was set to come into effect on April 10. However, the High Court on April 8 extended Bar’s tenure until April 20 by freezing the government decision. The court encouraged the A-G and government to negotiate a solution to the legal problems involved in firing the Shin Bet head, but no such solution has yet emerged.
The events also occurred in the shadow of Netanyahu’s ongoing trial on suspicions of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The prime minister began testifying on December 2, and his cross-examination has yet to commence.
In a letter to the court on April 8, Bar claimed that Netanyahu had attempted to delay the testimony by demanding the Shin Bet rule that the fortified Tel Aviv courtroom is unsafe, which would have delayed the testimony. According to Bar, this was the beginning of the prime minister’s distrust in him.
Bar also argued that the decision to fire him was intended to prevent the Qatargate investigation. Netanyahu countered that the investigation itself was a scheme by Bar to prevent his own firing.
In the background is also a slowly moving process to fire the attorney-general as well. The government on March 23 voted no-confidence in Baharav-Miara, and is now in the process of assembling the statutory committee to advise the government on the decision.
All of the above has created immense tension between the Shin Bet and attorney-general on one hand, the government on the other, and the police and High Court who are caught in the crossfire. The tensions could continue growing, Bar may decide to resign in order to relieve some of the pressure, or the government may choose to ignore a High Court ruling leaving Bar in power – which would likely lead to mass protests.