Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the appointment of Shmuel Ben Ezra as national security adviser, six months after removing Tzachi Hanegbi as head of the National Security Council.
Ben Ezra will serve as head of the National Security Council and national security adviser to the prime minister. Gil Reich had served recently as acting head of the council.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said Ben Ezra brings more than 30 years of experience in protecting Israel’s security. He headed the development project for the Arrow 3 ballistic missile defense system, which won the Israel Defense Prize.
In his most recent role at the Shin Bet security agency, Ben Ezra served for four years as head of the technology division for operations and cyber, a position equivalent to the rank of major general.
Ben Ezra holds a bachelor’s degree in applied physics, with highest honors; a master’s degree in applied physics; a master’s degree in business administration, with highest honors; and a master’s degree in political science with a focus on national security, also with highest honors. He is also a graduate of the National Defense College, with honors.
“Ben Ezra is marked by groundbreaking thinking and deep familiarity with the worlds of security and technology, and he has many years of experience working with government officials in the United States and around the world,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The statement said he would help Netanyahu strengthen Israel’s security, diplomatic and economic resilience and advance the country as a global technological power.
Hanegbi announced in October that he was stepping down as national security adviser after a series of clashes in the Cabinet. In his departure statement, he called for a “thorough investigation of the failure of which I am a part.”