Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that Shin Bet personnel who anonymously petitioned against the appointment of David Zini as head of the agency must provide their names to Zini within one week.

The decision came after the petitioners refused to reveal their identities despite an earlier court determination that Zini has the right to know who is challenging his appointment. During a recent hearing, Zini asked the court to find the petitioners in contempt for continuing to withhold their names.

Zini’s attorney, Yaakov Kerem, argued that the petitioners could not simply “take the law into their own hands” and refuse to identify themselves. Attorney Eitan Peleg, representing the petitioners, said his clients fear retaliation from the Shin Bet chief and argued that no explicit order had previously required them to disclose their identities.

Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit said during the hearing that, in his personal view, Zini would be wise to reconsider his position, adding that he was “not sure this is doing him any good.” Justices David Mintz and Noam Sohlberg said that a party to legal proceedings is entitled to know who has petitioned against them. Sohlberg added that he had expected Zini to accept the court’s earlier recommendation not to insist on publication of the list.

The court has now ordered the petitioners to turn over their names to Zini within seven days, resolving the immediate dispute over their anonymity.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)