Shin Bet chief David Zini sparked controversy after saying that one of the main reasons he felt qualified to lead Israel’s domestic security agency was his ability to remain loyal to the elected leadership, regardless of his personal views.
“The reason I agreed is that the issue I felt I was very qualified for, perhaps more than many other good people, is the ability to be loyal to the elected leadership, no matter what its opinion is,” Zini said in remarks released by the Shin Bet from a conference held Tuesday by the Argaman Institute.
Zini, a former IDF officer who moved from the military to lead the Shin Bet, said that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him to take the role, he initially believed he should refuse. “On the face of it, I should have told him: I am not qualified,” he said. “But I told him yes. I immediately told him that there are people inside the service who are better than me, so why not choose them? But I told him I can take on the mission.”
He added that his ability to serve elected officials was what made him suitable for the position. “This is something that tomorrow others will need,” he said.
The Shin Bet released the video from the event after recordings of Zini’s remarks were published by i24NEWS. In the footage, Zini said he had his own worldview and goals but was obligated to serve elected officials. “I have an internal engine, I have worldviews. I am not a puppet that moves with the wind. I have an agenda, I want to advance it, that is my responsibility. It is my role. I need to be the locomotive,” he said. “But on the other hand, I must have humility toward elected officials, and I can also be the last carriage of the train in a second. Just tell me where we are going.”
Zini also criticized what he described as failures in Israel’s governing systems, saying the country’s elected leadership often struggles to manage the institutions under its responsibility. “I look at the war, I sit in the cabinet, I look at how ministries contribute to the war effort, and I tell you: it is a miracle,” he said. “The elected leadership does not really have the ability to manage the frameworks over which it is responsible and was elected because people became confused about what their role is.”
He also criticized aspects of Israel’s legal system, arguing that excessive focus on procedures can come at the expense of broader goals. “We confused substance with technical details,” he said, linking what he described as institutional failures to the period before the October 7 massacre.
Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
The remarks drew criticism from opposition figures, including Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan, who accused Zini of blurring the line between serving the government and serving the state.
“The recorded confession by Zini exposes one of the most dangerous statements ever made by someone who headed a security system in Israel,” Golan wrote on X. “The Shin Bet chief is supposed to be loyal only to the State of Israel, its security and the law. Period. Someone who enters the role with a political agenda and declares that his job is to serve the government and not the state is a danger to state security.”
Golan warned that a security service guided by loyalty to political leadership rather than the law could become “a tool that serves a government seeking to hold onto power.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir defended Zini, saying the Shin Bet chief had expressed a basic democratic principle. “Finally, a senior security official says the basic thing in a democratic state: ‘I am subordinate to the elected leadership,’” Ben Gvir said, accusing Zini’s critics of attacking him because of their opposition to the government.
The controversy has reignited debate over the relationship between elected officials and independent state institutions, particularly within Israel’s security establishment.