MK Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid) called on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair to convene the full committee over Shin Bet director Ronen Bar's steps against the agency's LGBTQ employee cell, calling the matter "very serious" and warning the director that the Knesset controls his budget, in an interview on 103FM radio.
MK Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid), a former deputy head of the Shin Bet, called Wednesday morning for the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to hold a full session on the Shin Bet director's actions against the agency's LGBTQ employee cell. Speaking to 103FM radio, Ben Barak described the matter as "very serious" and said he would approach committee chair MK Yuli Edelstein to convene the plenum. He explicitly warned the Shin Bet director: "Sir, with all due respect, we are responsible for your budget." The call follows a Channel 12 report by journalist Yaron Avraham that revealed steps taken by Shin Bet director Ronen Bar against the internal LGBTQ group. The Knesset committee controls the Shin Bet's budget and operational oversight. As The Zioneer reported yesterday, MK Yura'i Lahav-Hertzanu, chair of the Knesset LGBTQ caucus, also criticized Bar's moves, warning the next government would not allow "homophobes" to lead public bodies. Ben Barak's demand raises the political pressure on the Shin Bet leadership ahead of any formal committee discussion.
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