The committee that examines and approves senior government positions is unlikely to issue any decision on the appointment of former IDF general David Zini as the next Shin Bet chief until at least after the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, led by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis, met Thursday to consider the controversial nomination of Zini to head the security agency, but wrapped up early due to the bar mitzvah of the grandson of a panel member.
According to Hebrew media outlets, the committee is slated to meet again on Sunday, when its members will speak to both Zini and IDF chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, but is not expected to issue any recommendation before September 25.
A week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally submitted Zini’s nomination to the committee, four months after he first announced him as his pick for the job. The appointment has been fraught from the start, as the prime minister’s firing of former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was itself wrapped up in contention.
Zini has also come under heavy fire, with four former Shin Bet chiefs filing objections to the appointments panel, warning that he is not fit to lead the internal security agency.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
The four ex-chiefs — Nadav Argaman, Ami Ayalon, Yoram Cohen and Carmi Gillon — all submitted separate letters to the committee this week warning against Zini’s appointment. The four letters were published in full by the Haaretz newspaper.
(Top L) Nadav Argaman at the Knesset, November 6, 2018 (Hadas Parush/Flash90) and (Top R) Ami Ayalon on March 27, 2023 (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90) and (Bottom L) Yoram Cohen in Jerusalem, April 8, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90) and (Bottom R) Carmi Gillon in Jerusalem, December 31, 2019 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In his letter, Cohen — who served exclusively under Netanyahu — warned that he believed Zini would be improperly influenced by the prime minister, and would serve in a manner that “does not meet professional standards and could also be against the law.”
He also wrote that he does not believe Zini’s experience and past positions have prepared him to take over as head of the Shin Bet.
Zini had until recently served as head of the IDF Training Command and General Staff Corps. He was dismissed from the army several months ago after going behind the IDF chief of staff’s back to discuss the Shin Bet appointment with Netanyahu.
In his own letter, Gillon warned the committee that the confirmation of Zini would mean “the disintegration of the Shin Bet from within, and cause irreversible damage, for generations, to the security of the State of Israel.”
Gillon averred that Zini’s positions, based on his own writings and public statements, “are based on an extreme worldview far beyond the social and political consensus upon which the State of Israel was founded and its laws were enacted.”
Zini is a controversial figure with self-described “messianic” views. He has also reportedly said during private discussions with former senior security officials that “the judicial system is a dictatorship that rules the State of Israel.”
According to some reports, several officials in the Shin Bet have threatened to resign if Zini takes over the agency.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and IDF Maj. Gen. David Zini at the Tzeelim training base in southern Israel, May 8, 2025. (GPO)
In its own letter to the appointments panel, the Prime Minister’s Office said he had tapped Zini because he felt that the Shin Bet needed an outside voice in the wake of its failures in the lead-up to the October 7 Hamas massacre.
“After looking at several candidates from [the Shin Bet] and other security agencies, and with attention to the consequences of October 7 on the Shin Bet, I decided to nominate a new Shin Bet chief who comes from outside the ranks of the organization,” the recommendation said.
Zini was first nominated by Netanyahu as head of the agency in May, following the controversial ouster of former chief Ronen Bar.
Bar had been dismissed by cabinet vote on March 21 based on Netanyahu’s assertion that he had lost confidence in the Shin Bet chief’s ability to do the job in the wake of the October 7 onslaught.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attends a ceremony at Yad Vashem on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 23, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Government watchdog groups petitioned the High Court against the decision, alleging that Bar had been dismissed due to his defiance of the prime minister on several key issues, and not for professional considerations. They also charged that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in the replacement process because the Shin Bet was investigating the prime minister’s close aides in the Qatargate affair as well as instances of document leaks.
The court froze Bar’s removal as it reviewed the matter. The next day, however, Netanyahu announced he would seek to have Zini installed as the next chief of the domestic security agency.
Bar resigned in June amid the controversy, and has since been replaced in an interim capacity by his former deputy, known only as “Shin,” until Zini or someone else is formally appointed to the post.
Under a compromise deal between the government and the attorney general reached in July, Netanyahu was to inform the head of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee of his pick to head the agency, which would then review the candidate’s suitability for the job.
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel