In a Facebook post written on Monday, Novak said, "I think it is the right moment. Five years is the correct term for me. I could do more, but I don't need to. It is right that someone else will take the reins of this wild horse and take it forward. I am not leaving 'Breaking the Silence,' but organizations that are in such intense political struggles need to refresh themselves."
According to Novak, the organization will begin searching for a new executive director and the transfer process will take several months.
Breaking the Silence, which is made up of former IDF soldiers and officers, seeks to "expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in" the West Bank.
Novak, 35, is leaving the organization mainly because it is entangled in ongoing struggles with politicians and other officials.
Among them is Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, who is is spearheading a law proposal designed to completely clamp down on “organizations which operate in Israel against IDF soldiers,”—a banner under which Breaking the silence squarely falls for Bennett.
The result of his proposed legislation would ben the organization's representatives from speaking at schools.
Last week, Novak spoke at the Barbur art gallery in Jerusalem, and shortly thereafter, the Jerusalem municipality announced its intention to cease funding for the gallery.