Three senior Shin Bet officials have threatened to resign following a decision by Shin Bet Director David Zini to remove a memorial honoring agency personnel who fell during the October 7 massacre, according to a Channel 12 News report.
The three officials, who continue serving the Shin Bet in key roles on a reserve basis, are expected to tell Zini in the coming days: “We cannot continue as if nothing happened.”
According to the report, the officials told Zini, “Your decision to dismantle the memorial wall is something that should never have been done. We cannot continue as if nothing happened, when the central motivation for our return was the events of October 7 and the desire to rebuild the organization.”
Last week, Haaretz reported that Zini had ordered the removal of a memorial honoring Shin Bet personnel who fell on October 7 from the entrance to the agency’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, reportedly arguing that it projected “defeatism.”
The report says that decision, together with other moves attributed to Zini—including a reported decision not to send Shin Bet delegations to Poland—has fueled growing unrest and internal debate within the organization.
The three senior officials, who remain involved in intelligence work and operational decision-making, reportedly view the removal of the October 7 memorial as a red line. The decision has also sparked anger among bereaved families.
A representative of the bereaved families told Channel 12: “We’re here to confront the failure every day. Even if Zini doesn’t want to face it, remembering what happened is what drives our work after October 7.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
