David Zini is blurring the lines that separate the Shin Bet from similar bodies in dictatorships | Ran Edelist

David Zini, the head of the Shin Bet, is, in my eyes, a distorted product of messianism, Mizrahi identity, and militarism. These are three components that the Right waves as flags of pride, and rightly so. Zini's distortion is intended to separate him from these three components, which are legitimate, and in combat conditions, even useful. With the addition of insensitivity to his basic package, a problematic picture emerges that goes beyond the ideological, halakhic, and political aspects.

This means blind obedience to his rabbis. His signature on paranoid security for the Netanyahu family is the essence of the politics of the religious-nationalist rabbis: give the ass of the Messiah everything he wants, provided he walks the path of the Messiah.

Several days earlier, Zini took another step when he whitewashed the "United and Strong Jewish Israel" party led by Kach movement activists, Baruch Marzel and Michael Ben-Ari. Two of the most delusional and violent Kahanists (Marzel with a history of arrests for physical assaults) on the messianic scene. Bezalel Smotrich next to them is a Swiss diplomat.

Zini and his rabbis' trend is to sharpen the violent edges of the messianic front ahead of a crisis. The knitted-kippah general, with religious fanaticism, commander of the Central Command, who whitewashed the Orwellian and violent farms in the West Bank, is now, as head of the Shin Bet, overturning the organization's established position that previously prevented the registration of Marzel's party, and from now on, the hill and farm youth have legitimate political representation.

In the fight against malignant Kahanism, it is important and urgent to expose the contacts between Zini, his deputy, and those who recommended Marzel. The issue is who approached whom, and who said what to whom, until an official document was cooked up under Zini's signature that does not disqualify running in the elections. This is bad for the country, it is good for Benjamin "Chaos" Netanyahu.

And if an investigation is called for, how did Zini's name surface among all the security personnel in Israel (hint: who recommended him in the previous round and was rejected by Bibi on the grounds that Zini was too messianic). They say it was a family decision. I have no idea if the deal for the head of the Shin Bet in exchange for sweeping family security was part of the unwritten terms of the appointment. It is just the fear, the suspicion, and the knowledge of the characters involved that require a criminal investigation into the sale of national security for extraneous considerations. A known procedure in the Prime Minister's Office.

Sharpness and Pride

The romance between Netanyahu and Zini began as an act of security pornography on a hasty date in the back seat at the Tze'elim base, and continued with a wild tearing down of the agreements and norms of conduct of the Shin Bet for generations. From the attitude toward the enemy to the attitude toward women, which is a natural derivative of the attitude toward the enemy. These two populations, Arabs and women, interfere with the proper course of men's service to the god of security in the field.

The enemy wants to destroy us, and the woman distracts the warriors of the holy war. Upon taking office, Zini announced to the women in the Shin Bet that he does not shake their hands. Why? After dealing with Arabs, gentiles, and leftists, it was time to deal with women and fence off the breach in the academy that invites rape.

This week, with sweeping support from rabbis from the Haredi yeshivas to the religious-nationalist preparatory schools, a law was passed stating that separate study tracks for men and women will not be considered discrimination. Why? Men are snakes plotting schemes, and the daughters of Eve are light-headed. It's about lust. A natural, pleasant, and healthy urge that in sane societies should not become a nuisance or an orgy. Perverts.

Women in the Shin Bet sent him a letter of protest, but Zini had already moved on to the internal enemies. He canceled the internal Pride Day, removed the memorial corner for the massacre in the Gaza envelope, and is considering summoning Channel 12 for an investigation into a leak. Why? Yaakov Bardugo landed in his office, inspired by Bibi's media obsession ahead of the elections, and it seems he simply ordered him to.

By the way, his decision not to send Shin Bet delegations to the Holocaust trips in Poland was correct, but for the wrong reason. Correct, because the trips to Poland and the Holocaust have become a justification for every war crime and wild security policy; incorrect, because it was intended to leave the justification for wars to the Torah-messianic wing.

The real problem with the chain of Zini events is that the man does not understand that the Shin Bet is a tool, like a knife or a hammer or a machine. The bulk of its capabilities is the sharpness, readiness, and unit pride of the human material that operates it. He does not understand that when he harms the memory of the massacre in the Gaza envelope, the LGBT community and their families, women, and the guardians of democracy as written in the Shin Bet law - he harms the cohesion and spirit of the unit, which is the key to its functioning. And this is a direct blow to the security of the state.

The man who appointed Zini should understand this, but for him, it is a tool intended to preserve the standard of living and security of his family, to eliminate political opponents from within, and to keep the conflict at a boiling point. The question is how many Shin Bet employees feel offended to the point of drawing conclusions. Personal and systemic. Can Zini be "educated" within the organization and protest effectively to save the internal motivation? The answer depends on the employees. They are not soldiers or agents, and the head of the Shin Bet is not a commander but a manager, and the only way to stop him now is from within the organization itself.

I don't know how to characterize the collective profile of the Shin Bet personnel by their divisions, I know what kind of selection their predecessors made 20 years ago and beyond, and what emphasis they placed on statehood as a key to management. The resignations of several senior officials who went home play into Zini's hands. He will screw in those obedient to him and his god in their place, and the rest can go jump in the lake.

Gorilla in a Kindergarten

All this mess was completely expected when Zini's name was put forward as a candidate. The man is a problem, I wrote that the man is a problem and explained why. When he was chosen, I wrote that he is not a problem, but a malfunction. The mainstream media, print and television, promoted him as one in the spirit of "his success is our success" (Channel 12). Even Amnon Abramovich, like a brother to me, said, "He deserves a chance." As if... a chance is the business of the national lottery, here we are betting on the fate of the country (that's what we all say), so give a chance to a gorilla in a kindergarten? What is this business of pretending to be state-minded in front of a sect of Sicarii?

And just for the record: the Shin Bet is a necessary organization that performs bad deeds that are necessary to maintain our security. Now David Zini has arrived, and he is blurring the lines that separate the Shin Bet from security organizations in dictatorial countries. From now on, the legal advisor of the organization, instead of being a guardian of the Shin Bet, will be a guardian of the Sabbath. The field personnel in the Shin Bet have a manager who does not recognize the trigger guard, and on the trigger itself sits the finger of God that decides and presses by itself.