Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday held his first working meeting with newly-approved Shin Bet Director David Zini.
The Shin Bet's main responsibilities are fighting Palestinian terror, fighting violent Jewish extremism against Palestinians, fighting attempts by Iran to recruit spies within Israel, and protecting Israeli democracy.
Zini was previously a major-general in the IDF handling training and reservists issues since 2017.
Prior to 2017, Zini started his IDF career in the General Staff Reconnaisance Unit in 1992, later served in the Paratroopers Brigade, and then became a commander in the Golani Brigade, and the commander of the Egoz commando unit.
He continued in key posts in the Northern Command, including during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and commanded the 51st Battalion and the Egoz Unit at different points during the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict. He also briefly commanded the Golani Brigade during the 2014 Gaza conflict, including during the intense Shejaia battle, after its prior commander was wounded.
Next, he was the operations officer of the Central Command from 2014-2015, and formed and commanded the Oz Brigade, also known as the elite Commandos Brigade, from 2015-2017.
David Zini: An outsider with a strong record
Although he is seen as an outside appointment and was not seen as a classic candidate to run the domestic spy agency, since his appointment, Zini has been supported by opposition official Benny Gantz, President Isaac Herzog, and other officials who have criticized Netanyahu regarding the process, but said Zini has a strong record and should be given a fair chance to succeed in his new role.
Netanyahu said he wanted an outsider to fix systemic errors within the Shin Bet which were exposed during Hamas's October 7 invasion, but many in the defense establishment believed Netanyahu merely wanted to fire Ronen Bar to shift blame for October 7 away from himself and to tamp down the Qatargate probe into some of his senior associates.
At an earlier meeting with Herzog, Zini spoke about being loyal first to the state, implying that this obligation was a higher priority even than honoring all orders of the prime minister.
Zini's predecessor, Bar, who Netanyahu forced out during a multi month legal battle over Qatargate and other issues, has warned that Netanyahu gave him several illegal orders to abuse Shin Bet surveillance powers in favor of Netanyahu, and other former Shin bet chiefs have warned that Zini will face intense pressures from Netanyahu to do so going forward.