Supreme Court Orders Petitioners Against Shin Bet Chief's Appointment to Reveal Names

Israel's Supreme Court has ordered petitioners challenging the appointment of Shin Bet chief David Zini to disclose their full names to him within one week. The decision was issued by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, Vice President Noam Sohlberg, and Justice David Mintz.

Zini had insisted on his right to receive the list of petitioners' names, leading to a dispute with the challengers. The court's order stated that since Zini is asserting his right to the list, and without determining whether previous rulings obligated the petitioners to reveal their identities, they must now do so within seven days.

This directive follows Zini's filing of a contempt of court petition against the challengers. Among the petitioners are former Shin Bet chiefs Nadav Argaman, Ami Ayalon, and Carmi Gillon, along with 186 former service employees and managers. Zini alleged that the petitioners were not complying with a previous court ruling and refused to provide their names.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court had already ruled that the petitioners had not cited any legal basis for concealing their identities from Zini, stating that a petition is not an anonymous petition and carries consequences. The court had determined that there was no reason to maintain the restriction on publishing the list concerning Zini himself, although the names remain confidential from the public.

While Sohlberg had suggested Zini consider waiving his right to the list as a gesture of goodwill, Zini maintained his demand. It later emerged that a list held by the court secretariat contained many petitioners' names only in initials. The petitioners argued that the prior ruling lacked an operative clause compelling them to submit their names to Zini, a point the court avoided deciding in its latest order, opting instead to issue a clear directive.