Of all the qualities that are necessary for a good Israeli intelligence chief, there’s one essential one you’d never think of in a million years: don’t cross Sara Netanyahu. You won’t find that one listed on any job description or set of requirements for the position, but in some sense it may be more important than all the other qualifications a successful candidate must have.
For a number of months, I reported that the next Shin Bet director to replace Yuval Diskin would be Yitzhak Ilan. Yet somehow he lost out to Yoram Cohen. I scratched my head and asked, what happened. Israeli media was full of rumors that the top candidate lost out in the end to a dark horse through some sort of taint or blemish that sunk his candidacy. The truth is that, in fact, until two hours before the announcement, Ilan was still the favored choice.
Ben Caspit hinted (Hebrew) that the settler movement hated Ilan (his previous intelligence jobs had involved investigating their acts of violence and extremism). Now, it appears likely that Sara and Eshel pointed out to Bibi that he had two good candidates, but that one angered one of his core constituencies (the settlers). So why not appoint the other and so retain their support? From this we can also expect that Cohen will go lightly on settler acts of terror and violence. Indeed, the fact that no one has been charged, prosecuted or imprisoned for a host of price tag attacks going back months may be ascribed to Cohen knowing on which side his bread is buttered.
In a recent conversation, a knowledgeable Israeli insider told me that Ilan ran afoul of Mrs. Netanyahu, though I never found out why. The benefit of the Eshel sexual harassment scandal is that it’s blowing the lid off other stories.
Today’s Haaretz provides examples of the ways in which Eshel abused Rivka Kidron on the job. One of them was to threaten her with surveillance by the Shin Bet:
One employee of the bureau [prime minister’s office] who testified in the Civil Service Commission probe said that Eshel told R. he was following her every move on orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara. According to this worker’s testimony, Eshel also told R. that she only had her job because of him, and that he was the one who had convinced Sara Netanyahu to okay her employment in the bureau.
Another person who testified to the commission said Eshel had let it drop to R. that he had a role in the appointment of Shin Bet security service head Yoram Cohen, and could therefore get help from the Shin Bet to monitor her activities.
We already know of the extraordinarily close relationship between Sara and Eshel. In fact, he was her eyes and ears in the PMO. He did her bidding. It now becomes obvious that one of the ways in which he did this was to promote the fortunes of the successful finalist, Cohen (who is, like Eshel, an Orthodox Jew). What does it say about a nation’s intelligence services that to be a successful candidate you have to cultivate the favor of the prime minister’s wife as much as or more than touting your actual professional qualifications?
Returning to the Eshel-Kidron case, it’s known that Sara disapproved of the former. This gave Eshel yet another point of leverage against the victim. He could go to her and say that Sara hates you, I’m the only one who stands between you and a pink slip. This is the mark of a canny sexual predator seeking pressure points to exploit for his own advantage. It reminds me of a previously exposed high level convicted rapist, Moshe Katsav. The only difference was that Katsav had numerous victims. Eshel appears not to have succeeded in his blandishments toward Kidron.
the word ‘decadence’ comes to mind. israel promotes itself as an ‘intelligent’ nation, a source of technical innovation and more broadly innovative thinking. this pervasive, roman-style, end-of-the-empire corruption makes a good case for the opposite.
Technology has no relation to progressiveness, and a vague (at best) relation to intelligence.
One of the sad things about Israel’s politics (that is, after control over a large population with no political rights and after neglecting the social rights of those people who aren’t money-making machines) is the addiction of the public opinion of this country to an image of a “capable leader” who will direct all the affairs single-handedly. That creates a feasible danger of a personality cult, and Israeli civil society is not strong enough to resist this danger. By the way, this is the reason why Israel was devised as a parliamentary democracy from its inception, as a parliamentary democracy presumes collective leadership and decision-making.
” It now becomes obvious that one of the ways in which he did this was to promote the fortunes of the successful finalist,”
Nothing you write suggests that it is “obvious” that Sarah Netanyahu played a major role choosing the new Shabak director. What you provide barely amounts to gossip.
Eshel doesn’t have independent views of his own. He gets all his ideas & marching orders from Sara. If he pressured Bibi to favor Cohen over Ilan it was because of Sara. His harassment of Kidron no doubt was also influenced by the fact that Sara hated her.
Somethings wrong here. The idea behind getting married multiple times is that by wife number three, she’s all tits and ass and knows how to keep her mouth shut. He ain’t doing this right. She’s haulin’ a caboose, has diahrea of the mouth, and has a face that could scare paint off the wall.
LOL.
Whatever anyone might or might not think about Sara Netanyahu, I hope there is no place in this blog for completely sexist and inane comments like this one.
Not sure if my first comment on this got through, but I feel strongly enough to write again just in case.
Whatever the view of Sarah Netanyahu, this comment is simply inane and sexist and from what I know of this blog, has no place here.
I agree with you. If we respect women here, we’ve got to respect all of them, even the ones we can’t stand. There are plenty of legitimate ways to criticize Sara without going to the dark side.
Whoa. Do we have to be that crass & sexist? There are enough things about Sara to criticize without going there, I think.
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned”
William Congreve….The Mourning Bride (1697),Act III, Scene VIII
Sara’s influence upon her husband is not unique among the wives of world leaders.
Michelle Obama is not reticent about her strongly held opinions,ask Rahm Emanuel.
Are you really comparing Michelle Obama to Sara Netanyahu? Are you sure you want to go there?
“Are you really comparing Michelle Obama to Sara Netanyahu? Are you sure you want to go there?”
No disrespect is intended or implied toward the first lady,who I believe will continue to be the first lady after November.I compare Michelle Obama to Sara Netanyahu only in as much as they are both women and are both wives of influential men and like most women they both seek to influence their husbands.This is not necessarily a bad thing,many wives compliment their husbands and not for nothing is it said that behind every successful man there is a woman.
However, when considering any candidate for elected office one should not discount the future potential influence of their wife.In the U.S., first ladies have influenced, both overtly and inadvertently,everything from domestic political agendas to foreign policy through their relationships with their husbands.
Also in Israel wives of politicians have influenced their husbands both overtly and inadvertently.Sara has even been reported as writing some of Bibi’s speeches so it is not inconceivable that she might try to influence the appointment of the next Shin Bet director.
The question is not whether she has or has not influenced the appointment of the next Shin Bet director.The question is why was she permitted to do so if she indeed did
do so.
The only reference I have for Sara is this (and it makes me rofl):
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/11/world/more-fraud-questioning-for-netanyahus.html
He basically got caught stealing silverware with his wife, as one of part of those charges, from the State of Israel, as well as all sorts of trinkets that are historic state property to put up in his private residence.
Just sayin… 😉
Richard said:
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Cohen (who is, like Eshel, an Orthodox Jew).
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I am not sure what that has to do with anything . Recall that “progressives” oppose generalizations, particularly negative ones, about groups of people….they label that “racism”.
Or how about this one….”Cohen, who is like Eshel and Richard Silverstein, a Jew….