'S' takes over as acting Shin Bet chief from Ronen Bar
Bar, who picked S. as his deputy in January, said he had tremendous confidence in S. to run the agency.
Due to legal battles over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini as the next chief of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service) to replace Ronen Bar on Monday when he resigns, Bar’s deputy chief “S” takes over the agency Sunday night at midnight as acting director for an undefined period of time.
Bar, who picked S as his deputy in January, said he had tremendous confidence in him to run the agency.
While it is possible that Zini may get approved by the High Court of Justice within days or weeks, it is also possible that the justices will veto the appointment as illegal because of concerns about its impact on the Qatargate probe.
Also, the courts are not fully operating right now due to the new open war between Israel and Iran, which could further delay resolution of the issue.
In that case, S would remain acting Shin Bet director for an indefinite period of time.
Who is the new Shin Bet chief, S?
S is 53, married, and has three children.He served as an IDF soldier and then an officer in the Golani Brigade.
S joined the Shin Bet in 1995, working on anti-terror issues in the east Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria section.
From 1995-2010, he filled several different field positions as well as management positions in east Jerusalem as well as training other field agents of the agency.
From 2010-2012 he headed the Shin Bet’s cyber and signal intelligence unit.
In 2012, he was appointed bureau chief to then-Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, serving in that position until 2014.
From 2014-2016, he served as the head of the agency’s analysis section.
He was on academic security studies sabbatical from 2016-2017.
Then from 2017-2019 he was head of the section for thwarting terror in Samaria.
He was promoted to be head of thwarting anti-Israel spying in 2019, a position he served in until 2021.
From 2022-2024, he was in charge of force-buildup and long-term planning for the agency.
Since January of this year, he has been the Shin Bet deputy chief.
S was on a first-round short list for potential appointment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but did not make the second-round short list that included other former deputy chiefs who had served in that role longer than him, as well as other senior defense officials from outside of the Shin Bet, such as Zinni.
He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in business management.
S appointed “M” as his deputy chief.
M was deputy chief before S and was his boss until stepping down from the agency in January, leading to S’s promotion.
Also, M got closer to being appointed the next Shin Bet chief by Netanyahu and has been used by the prime minister since February to replace Bar in traveling to Qatar to negotiate over Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Despite these conflicts, Bar said he backed M just as much as S and said the two of them would form a formidable team.
