When I opened the weekend paper on Friday all I found was one big gossip column about how Netanyahu supposedly ordered the surveillance of the Mossad chief and other senior security officials several years ago.
And who wrote this gossip? None other than people who used to be senior intelligence officials. They were trying to mask these as informative reports about Israeli foreign policy, but nobody bought this nonsense. It appears that tongues become loose once people end their service to the state.
When such a debate is being waged out there in the open, the public understands that something must be wrong with those tasked with safeguarding our secrets. Several weeks ago we learned that the Mossad managed to seize the Iranian nuclear archive. In that case, the prime minister used his prerogative, as the head of Israel's intelligence services, to share this amazing feat with the public. This made Israelis extremely proud.
But what Netanyahu did is nothing compared to what security officials do during and especially after they retire. I am still baffled by the fact someone confided with me about the 1981 strike against Iraq's nuclear reactor shortly before the jets took off from Israel. Why was I, as a journalist, entitled to know about the impending mission and the training involved? This is not the only outrageous case in which secrets were compromised for no apparent reason.
What explains this conduct where spooks suddenly expose everything after decades of being out of the public limelight ? For years on end, those agents would wake up early in the morning without kissing their loved ones goodbye; they would then arrive at work and deliberate on various operations, perhaps on an assassination of some key official in Iran's nuclear program (just a guess on my part). But what happens after they leave their high-profile role? Occasionally, their pride takes over, and all they want to do is share with the world just how diligently and honorably they performed their job as Israel's spooks.
One of the most appealing ways to explain their contribution to Israel's security is by going on television and then blurting out some important statement that immediately triggers a media frenzy. As a result of this craving for attention, it is often Netanyahu who becomes the victim, since the media has yet to come to terms with the fact that he is still in power. So there we have it: When key officials leave public service all they do is just smear the prime minister.
Former Shin Bet security agency chief Yoram Cohen has denied the report that Netanyahu wanted him to wiretap the phones of the Mossad and IDF chiefs. I believe him. If people decide to slander the prime minister after they leave their sensitive positions in which they served under him – this is just hypocritical on their part. If things were so bad, why did they hold on to their position? They are undermining the very integrity they try to showcase, and that is unfortunate.
Iranians are delighted by all this. They are well aware of the public debate between officials and former officials on a variety of issues, ranging from the merits of a potential strike against Iran to the question of whether the Mossad chief is a liar. "Keep up the good work," Iranians must be telling Israelis. "Continue revealing your weaknesses! We in Tehran are following your silly arguments with great interest.
