Senior Shin Bet Officer Arrested for Exposing Investigation of Ben Gvir

Israeli police have arrested a former senior Shin Bet officer, Amir Ben Hai, who is accused of leaking top secret documents exposing a secret investigation of Itamar Ben Gvir. Ben Hai is a settler who lives in the Kfar Adumim colony. He was fired last year due to his role in the Qatargate scandal/investigation.  Considering that he leaked classified material in the current case, I’m guessing he leaked sensitive information to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding progress of the Shin Bet investigation.  The reporter who broke the story, Amit Segal is himself a far-right journalist, whose father was convicted of a terrorist bombing of three West Bank mayors. Ben Hai also leaked to a far-right wing cabinet minister, Amichai Chikli.

In his Facebook posts, Ben-Hai declares his hatred of the the democracy (anti-judicial coup) movement, which he calls the “Deep State.”  He reserves special ire for the army reservists who, during the protests against the judicial coup, pledged to refuse military service.  He calls their “threats” a “wound” and “deep scar” which threatens the “brotherly unity” of the Israeli people.

On Tisha B’Av (a holiday commemorating the destruction of the Second Temple) 2024, Ben Gvir announced he was overturning decades of religious regulations, which prohibited Jewish prayer on what Israelis call the Temple Mount:

“There is great progress here in terms of governance and sovereignty – images of Jews praying here,” Ben Gvir said. “As I said, our policy is to allow prayer.”

Worshipers were seen spread out on the ground, prostrated themselves in contradiction to the clear rules in the religious site, which is administered by the Jordanian Waqf, or Muslim religious endowment, that bars Jewish prayer.

It is forbidden because it urges rebuilding the Temple, restoring the priesthood and animal sacrifice. The Al Aqsa mosque would be destroyed. Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, determined this sabotaged security operations and enabled the infiltration of Kahanism into the police command. His agents had secretly documented the events while on site.

The Shin Bet, which is charged with maintaining security and order, views the traditional protocols as a means of maintaining social peace.  Ben Gvir’s toppling of it, in furtherance of his goal of rebuilding the Temple, is a cherished vision of Kahanism and its modern manifestation, the radical messianist settler movement.  As such, Bar viewed Ben Gvir as someone seeking to overthrow the Israeli state in favor of a fundamentalist theocracy.  Ironically, Ben Gvir calls Bar a part of the Deep State. If anyone fits the bill, it is the former.

As police minister, Ben Gvir’s role brought him into conflict with the Shin Bet, which is charged with investigating terrorism, including Jewish terrorism.  Ben Gvir has been himself a frequent target of the Shin Bet. He despises the Jewish terror unit, which is the bane of the most violent settlers.  Undoubtedly, he sought to sabotage its work.  Thus, there is no love lost between the two rival security agencies.

When Ben Gvir discovered he was being investigated, he cursed Bar: “you are a criminal who should be in prison!”  Netanyahu too, when briefed by the shin Bet chief, opposed it, warning him it was unconscionable to target government ministers and officials elected by the voters. Actually, no one elected Ben Gvir to run the police force. He demanded and won that plum assignment as an essential member of the governing coalition.  Netanyahu was, in effect, protecting Ben Gvir, his co-conspirator.  Remember that just as Ben Gvir had incited the murder of Rabin, Netanyahu made a fiery speech during the same period, attacking him. This was the societal context, which induced the assassin to act.

Ultimately, Netanyahu fired Bar, who contested his firing before the right-wing Supreme Court.  It found that Bar could be fired, but that his replacement could not be named till Bar left office.  Netanyahu defied the Court ruling (where have we seen that before?) and named his own hand-picked successor.

Undoubtedly, once Bar leaves office, the incoming Shin Bet chief will drop the investigation, at the direction of Netanyahu.  As always, the fix is in. He protects his toadies and cronies, and destroys his rivals and enemies.  It’s the Way of the Bibi.

Ben Hai is an ardent supporter of Ben Gvir, which explains his motivation in leaking the documents and revealing the existence of the Shin Bet investigation. They are both the equivalent of the January 6th insurrectionists, seeking to overthrow the secular Israeli state, and impose a religious state reserved for a pure Jewish race.