Israel's Supreme Court Orders Former Shin Bet Agents to Reveal Names to Current Chief

Israel's Supreme Court has set a one-week deadline for petitioners in a case against Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar to reveal their identities to him. The ruling stems from a petition filed by former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman and 188 other former Shin Bet employees who sought to keep their names confidential from Bar. The court determined there is no legal basis for their anonymity in this context.

The decision was made following a request by Bar for contempt of court proceedings, as he asserted his right to know the identities of those petitioning against him and the government. The court, comprising President Yitzhak Amit, Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, and Justice David Mintz, mandated that the petitioners must disclose their names to Bar within seven days.

This ruling follows a December decision where the court stated that petitions are not anonymous petitions and that individuals making serious allegations must bear the consequences. However, the court clarified that this does not mean the names will be made public; the list of petitioners will remain confidential from the general public. The legal dispute is specifically about whether their names should be revealed to the Shin Bet chief himself.

In the previous ruling, Deputy President Sohlberg had suggested that Bar might consider waiving his right to the names after the proceedings concluded, acknowledging that some petitioners were former employees who might continue to assist the agency. Despite this, Bar insisted on receiving the list. The current order does not definitively state whether previous decisions already compelled the petitioners to reveal their identities to Bar.