Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel backed away from his nominee for the head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service on Tuesday after conservative allies attacked him for criticizing President Trump and Israeli media reported that he had protested judicial overhauls pushed by Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
Mr. Netanyahu had backed Eli Sharvit, a former commander of Israel’s navy, to lead the Shin Bet intelligence agency after he dismissed his predecessor, Ronen Bar, a decision that prompted protests. But the Israeli leader dropped Mr. Sharvit a day after the Monday announcement after a backlash from the right, partly because he had written a column two months ago criticizing Mr. Trump for rolling back policies to fight climate change.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office said that he had met with Mr. Sharvit to inform him that he would pursue other candidates for the job, without specifying a reason. As the country’s domestic security agency, The Shin Bet plays a key role in the war in Gaza and Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank.
Mr. Netanyahu removed Mr. Bar from the post last month, saying he could no longer trust him. Critics called the move an attempt by Mr. Netanyahu to purge dissenting views from the top ranks of Israel’s security establishment and the decision prompted protests.
Under Mr. Bar’s direction, the Shin Bet has been involved in investigating some of Mr. Netanyahu’s aides’ ties with Qatar, including over accusations that they received payments from people connected to the Qatari government. Israel’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear petitions against Mr. Bar’s removal by next week, and Israeli legal experts say it may reverse Mr. Netanyahu’s decision.
Mr. Netanyahu’s left-wing and centrist opponents had feared that he would try to tighten his grip over the agency by appointing a close adviser. But many hailed Mr. Sharvit, who retired from the military in 2021, as an experienced and capable soldier.
There was a fierce and immediate right-wing response, however.
In 2023, Mr. Sharvit participated in demonstrations against Mr. Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, according to Yediot Aharonot, a major Israeli newspaper. The proposals, which aimed to weaken Israel’s judiciary, prompted mass protests as many Israelis decried them as a threat to the country’s democracy. Mr. Sharvit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tally Gotliv, a lawmaker from Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, denounced Mr. Sharvit as someone who had “undermined” the prime minister. “I would not have nominated him to this important post,” she said in a video posted on social media. “Sir, think it over again.”
It then emerged that Mr. Sharvit had written an opinion column in January criticizing Mr. Trump’s policies rolling back efforts aimed at limiting pollution and strengthening the fossil fuel industry.
After leaving the military, Mr. Sharvit worked as an executive in the green energy sector, and the article dealt with Mr. Trump’s climate change policy rather than any of the sensitive security issues that fall under the purview of the Shin Bet. “Trump’s shortsightedness sends a terrible message to the world of disregard for scientific reality, the well-being of humanity, and responsibility to future generations,” Mr. Sharvit wrote in Calcalist, an Israeli economic daily.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a key ally of Mr. Trump, called for Mr. Netanyahu to withdraw Mr. Sharvit’s nomination, saying that his appointment was “beyond problematic.”
“The statements made by Eli Sharvit about President Trump and his polices will create unnecessary stress at a critical time,” Mr. Graham wrote on social media on Monday. “My advice to my Israeli friends is change course and do better vetting.”
