Former Mossad Operative Deborah Sharifian Joins Gadi Eizenkot’s Yashar Party to Boost Peripheral Youth

Deborah Sharifian Bakhar, a former operative with 22 years of experience in Israeli intelligence agencies including the Shin Bet and Mossad, has joined the Yashar party led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Sharifian, 44, brings a unique blend of operational intelligence and cyber expertise alongside a strong commitment to social leadership focused on reducing disparities and developing Israel’s periphery.

Born in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution, Sharifian was secretly brought to Israel at age seven in a Mossad operation. She overcame conservative family opposition to enlist in the IDF, eventually serving as a respected commander and retiring as a captain. She began her intelligence career in the Shin Bet’s operational field unit "Team Tequila," focusing on counterterrorism and intelligence gathering, before moving to the Mossad where she held senior operational and analytic roles, specializing in big data and cyber intelligence.

Sharifian later transitioned to education, founding a pioneering excellence track called "Security and Intelligence in the Iran Track" in Eilat’s high schools. She independently raised over 1.5 million shekels to establish this program, which now operates in seven Israeli cities and has integrated dozens of graduates into elite IDF intelligence and cyber units. The program won the January AMAN Chief’s Award for creative thinking due to its impact on diversifying perspectives and expanding opportunities for peripheral youth.

Eizenkot praised Sharifian as a fighter for the periphery and a symbol of promising Israeli leadership, highlighting her operational background and educational entrepreneurship as valuable assets for his party’s mission to reform the country. Sharifian emphasized her decision to join Yashar as driven by a desire to influence critical decision-making centers and to connect national security with social resilience, especially for children in Israel’s periphery.

Her addition follows a series of high-profile figures joining Yashar, including former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, economist Shaul Meridor, former ministers Matan Kahana and Orit Farkash-Hacohen, and social leaders. Recent polls place Yashar first with 23 Knesset seats, surpassing Likud. Eizenkot has also indicated openness to including Shas in his coalition if it accepts key principles, including Haredi conscription.