What Shin Bet security service director Ronen Bar said in his affidavit to the Supreme Court on Monday in the context of petitions filed against his ouster ought to shake the country to its core.
Bar wrote that he submitted the affidavit "out of deep fear for the ability of subsequent heads of the agency to preserve its nonpartisan character, its professionalism and its operation strictly within the limits of its legally mandated purposes … despite the pressure on them, without fearing that the sword of dismissal through a hasty and improper process will threaten them."
He added that he was doing so "despite the heavy price that the agency and I are paying to ensure the professional independence of the agency and my successor, as well as their ability to refuse to obey inappropriate orders."
The affidavit was submitted to the court and was intended first and foremost to be read by the justices who will have to rule on the petitions against Bar's ouster. But this document should also keep every Israeli awake at night. Benjamin Netanyahu and his government tried to divert the Shin Bet from its legally mandated goals. The prime minister sought to use the organization to engage in political persecution of his opponents.
Bar wrote that Netanyahu told him "more than once that he sought to establish the expectation that the Shin Bet would take action against citizens involved in protest activity and demonstrations" outside government offices, including looking into "the protests' funders." These requests, Bar continued, were made after Netanyahu ordered his military secretary and his stenographer to leave the room, with the clear intent of ensuring that there be no record of this.
One particularly serious matter mentioned in the document was Netanyahu's demand that the Shin Bet director show loyalty to him personally rather than to the state. According to Bar, Netanyahu told him that "if a constitutional crisis erupts," Bar should "obey the prime minister rather than the Supreme Court." This is a request that directly and devastatingly harms the most basic foundation of democracy and is utterly at odds with the rule of law.
Bar also discussed the Qatargate investigation, noting that the ties between Netanyahu's aides and Qatar could harm national security. Firing him while he is investigating members of Netanyahu's staff in this affair is a clear case of a conflict of interest.
The prime minister also demanded that Bar provide him with a false alibi that would enable him to avoid testifying in his criminal trial. Granted, Netanyahu denied everything on Monday, but there is no reason to believe someone who has already proven that his word is worth nothing.
"No citadel has fallen," former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut said during the court hearings that ultimately produced an 11-0 ruling authorizing someone charged with serious crimes to serve as prime minister. Since then, Israelis have seen the fortress in the process of being brought down on its inhabitants' heads. The court must prevent Netanyahu from getting rid of someone who is trying to prevent him from finishing the job.
The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.