Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Shin Bet director Ronen Bar's reported decision to cancel Pride Month events within the security service, saying security resources must be focused on core missions and "progressive agendas" have no place in the agency's operations.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday issued a statement backing Shin Bet director Ronen Bar's reported decision to cancel Pride Month events at the security agency, as first revealed by N12's 'HaMahadura HaMerkazit'. In a detailed statement released Wednesday afternoon, Smotrich said the Shin Bet's resources must be directed solely toward core security missions — protecting citizens, thwarting threats, and defeating enemies — and that internal social agendas belong in the public and political arena, not within security bodies. "I strengthen the hand of the Shin Bet chief in his decision to discharge progressive agendas from the service," Smotrich said. "I am confident he is acting out of professional responsibility and for the security of the state." The comments follow a similar statement from Smotrich earlier in the day — also on Wednesday — and come amid ongoing public controversy over the Shin Bet's internal handling of LGBTQ employee activities. The Zioneer previously reported Smotrich's first supportive remarks, timed to the initial N12 report.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake