Television host Assi Azar sharply criticized Shin Bet chief David Zini on Wednesday after a Channel 12 report said the agency had canceled its Pride Month activities and rejected several requests from its LGBTQ cell. Azar wrote on Instagram that he hoped Zini would reverse what he called a “sad decision,” asking whether the organization was so afraid of its gay employees and calling for their voice to be heard.
Azar also addressed Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a member of the LGBTQ community, saying he expected Ohana to hear that community’s concerns as he takes up his role. He added that the issue was not financial, describing the sums involved as negligible, and warned that the move sends a message to potential gay recruits to the Shin Bet that they should “go back into the closet.”
In a later post, Azar shared a screenshot from Ohana’s Instagram account noting that Ohana is the partner of Alon Hadad and the father of their children. Azar accused Ohana of acting first as a politician and only then as a partner and father, and said he was aligning himself with people who were hurting him, for the sake of holding on to his seat.
The report said the Shin Bet had canceled its traditional annual Pride Month lecture. According to informed sources, the decision followed an order from above by Zini, who refused to approve the event. Sources also said multiple requests from the LGBTQ cell were turned down, including permission for a special banner, a Pride Month screensaver, hanging rainbow flags in the event hall, issuing stickers, and using the organization’s systems to distribute dedicated content.
