Former Mossad and Shin Bet Operative Deborah Sharifian Becomes Key Member of Gadi Eizenkot’s Party

Deborah Sharifian Bakhar, a former operative of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet, has joined the political party led by ex-IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot ahead of upcoming elections. Born in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution, she was secretly brought to Israel at age seven in a covert Mossad operation. Sharifian Bakhar grew up in a conservative household, fought for her right to enlist, and served in the IDF until the rank of captain, holding various command and training roles.

Her Shin Bet career began in field operations, where she participated in thwarting terrorist attacks and gathering operational intelligence as part of the “Tequila Team.” Afterward, she joined Mossad, serving in operational and intelligence roles, eventually becoming an analyst specializing in big data and cyber intelligence. She advanced to senior command positions, including heading an intelligence branch in the operational department.

Sharifian Bakhar also founded a unique educational excellence program called “Security and Intelligence in the Iran Track” in Eilat, aimed at peripheral communities. She independently raised over 1.5 million shekels to establish the program, developed its curriculum with the Ministry of Education, and expanded it to high schools in social and geographic peripheries. The program won the Chief of Military Intelligence Award for Creative Thinking in January for promoting diverse perspectives and opportunities for children from peripheral areas.

Gadi Eizenkot praised her as a fighter for the periphery and a leader who broke glass ceilings in intelligence and cyber sectors. He highlighted her operational experience and entrepreneurial spirit as valuable assets for his party’s mission to drive national reform. Sharifian Bakhar emphasized her commitment to combining security resilience with social strength and expressed her belief in providing all children in peripheral areas with tools to excel. She cited Eizenkot’s leadership as balanced, nationalistic, and visionary, motivating her decision to join his party, Yashar!