Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retreated from the candidate for heading Israel’s domestic intelligence reporting agency on Tuesday as his conservative allies attacked him for criticizing President Trump.
Netanyahu supported Eli Sharbitt, a former commander of the Israeli Navy, and led the intelligence agency in Singh Bet after rejecting his predecessor, Rohnen Barr. But Israeli leaders dropped Sharbitt a day after Monday’s announcement two months ago after a backlash from the right, after a column about Trump repeatedly criticizing policies to combat climate change.
Netanyahu’s office said he met with Sharvitt to let him know that he was pursuing other candidates for his job, without specifying a reason. As the country’s domestic security agency, Singh Bett plays a key role in the wars of Gaza and Israel’s decades of occupation of the West Bank.
Netanyahu removed Barr from the post last month, saying he can no longer trust him. Critics called Netanyahu’s attempt to wipe out disagreements from the top ranks of Israeli security facilities the move.
Under Bar’s direction, Singh Bett has been involved in several investigations into Netanyahu’s aide’s relationship with Qatar. The Israeli Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition for Barr’s removal by next week, and Israeli legal experts say it could overturn Netanyahu’s decision.
Netanyahu’s left and centralist opponents were afraid to try and hold the agency by appointing close advisers. However, many welcomed Sharvitt, who retired from the military in 2021 as an experienced and capable soldier.
However, there was a fierce and immediate right-wing response.
In 2023, Sharbitt took part in a demonstration against Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, according to Israeli major newspaper Yediot Ahronot. The proposal aimed at weakening Israeli judiciary prompted massive protests as many Israelis accused them of a threat to the country’s democracy. Sharvit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Netanyahu’s Likud party MP Tally Gotrib has accused Sharvit of “weaking” the prime minister. “I wouldn’t have named him for this important post,” she said in a video posted on social media. “Sir, think about it again.”
It was later revealed in January that Sharvit criticized his efforts to criticize Trump’s policies aimed at limiting pollution and strengthening the fossil fuel industry.
After leaving the military, Sharbitt worked as a senior member of the Green Energy division, and this article addressed Trump’s climate change policy rather than any of the sensitive security issues falling within the scope of simbet. “Trump’s myopia sends a frightening message to a world that ignores scientific reality, human happiness and responsibility for future generations,” Sharbitt wrote in Israel’s Economic Daily Calculist.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a key ally of Trump, called on Netanyahu to withdraw Sharvitt’s appointment, saying his appointment was “over the matter.”
“Eli Sharbitt’s statement about President Trump and his policies will create unnecessary stress at a critical time,” Graham wrote on social media on Monday. “My advice to my Israeli friends is to have a Change course and have a better review.”
