Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and others aligned with the Israeli opposition are pushing for a state commission of inquiry on the events of October 7, 2023 – rejecting any governmental or alternative investigative body.
Many, however, including some families of hostages and fallen soldiers, oppose such a commission. This divide mirrors the broader political landscape, where those accused of lacking "national dignity" — mainly right-wing voters — are now the ones rejecting the very institutions that once dismissed them.
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Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
( Photo: Ido Erez, Yair Sagi)
For years, right-wing politicians were accused of disrespecting state institutions — the Supreme Court, the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Mossad — while left-wing disregard for government and Knesset decisions was overlooked.
The glorification of these institutions shielded them from criticism, with any challenge to military or security policy framed as a "threat to national security." Meanwhile, judicial interventions limiting military actions, including rulings against open-fire regulations and operational procedures, went unquestioned in the name of "national dignity."
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Even some on the right embraced this rhetoric. Politicians like Yoaz Hendel and Gideon Sa’ar built careers by portraying themselves as the true custodians of national dignity, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett invoked this to justify his controversial political maneuvering.
His infamous letter to the "silent Zionist majority," in which he accused his own people of spreading "poison," also leaned on this concept — ironically.
Naveh DromiPhoto: Ilya Milenko Now, the same public that was vilified in the name of “national dignity” is expected to accept a state commission of inquiry. But they don’t trust it and don’t want it. After years of being dismissed and attacked, they refuse to be a punching bag any longer.
If a bipartisan inquiry were proposed — with two opposition and two coalition members selecting a retired judge to lead it — those insisting on a "state commission" would reject it outright, branding anything else as illegitimate.
Naveh Dromi is an Israeli journalist and columnist.