At a festive ceremony held at the President's Residence, certificates of excellence were presented to 14 Shin Bet employees by President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ceremony was held this morning, Monday, in the presence of ISA Director David Zini.
The honorees are veteran and young employees in various and diverse roles who perform their duties in the ISA exceptionally, while fulfilling the organization's mission and values.
President Isaac Herzog said at the ceremony: “This occasion carries within it a certain dissonance, a contradiction: between the noble lives of those who work in the shadows - whose missions take place far from the spotlight, whose successes often remain unseen, and whose countless saved lives will most likely never know to whom they owe their gratitude.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "The service's contribution in thwarting over 1,200 attacks is unbelievable and also unknown. Because if there had been 1,200 attacks, you would understand it; the entire public would understand it. But we have reached a situation where we have the greatest level of alerts we have ever known, and the lowest level of attacks actually carried out we have ever known.
"Today, Israel is considered, and not by exaggeration, the strongest power in the Middle East. We have changed the entire balance of deterrence and the balance of power. We did this thanks to the steadfast stand, first and foremost, of our people, our fighters, our commanders, in all of the security services, and also with the prudent decisions we have made."
Netanyahu recounted: "When I approve these operations, we stand in the room, I can describe it to you, it is a room about this size, an auditorium like this. All of the ISA systems, all of the computers, all of the officials sit at their stations. And a young man approaches outside, I won't say his name, and I look him in the eyes, and I ask him: 'Will you carry this out? Are you sure of this?' And I tell you, as the one who has to make the decision, I look him in the eyes, and if he blinks even a little, we think twice. But if he comes and says with confidence, 'Prime Minister, I am capable. We will succeed in this.' That is how we set out, time after time. Because of this confidence, because of this determination, because of this professionalism, because of this backing, we went out, and you succeeded in surprising and astonishing the entire world."
Among the recipients of the Certificate of Excellence:
A., Head of the Field Security Branch in the Southern District, married and father of three. Since October 7, 2023, he has led his team through complex and challenging field operations. In his role, A. conceived a groundbreaking operational idea that enabled the recovery of the bodies of abducted victims, allowing them to be brought to burial in Israel.
G., serving in an intelligence position in the field of data mining within Israel, is married and a mother of three. In her role, she led the operation that thwarted a financial and weapons infrastructure linked to Hamas in Turkey and destined for Judea and Samaria to fund terror activity. She also played a key role in solving a major terror attack in which an Israeli citizen was murdered.
D., Head of an Investigations Team in the Judea and Samaria District, married and father of four. Since joining the investigations division, D. has been involved in major and sensitive investigations. In recent months, he led a significant case in which a Hamas network in the Hebron area-planning large-scale attacks inside Israel and comprising over 60 operatives-was dismantled. The investigation led to the seizure of dozens of weapons and combat equipment.
M., Head of the Desk Branch in the Southern District, is married and a father of three. In his role, he managed the efforts to neutralize senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar. M. spearheaded the integration of cyber tools into the desk’s operations, which aided in locating and eliminating Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip.
N., an engineer in the Information Technologies Division, is married and a father of two. He implemented groundbreaking projects that resulted in major technological advancements, positioning the agency as a global leader in artificial intelligence. N. made a significant contribution to the processing of captured materials from the war through unique technological tools.
T., Deputy Head of the Technological Operations Unit, married and father of four. Throughout the war, T. led the technological aspects of complex missions, including operations to rescue hostages from the Gaza Strip.
R., Head of the Research Branch in Judea and Samaria, is married and a mother of two. In her role, she leads work on complex research issues central to the agency’s security mission. R. initiated and led research models for threat assessment and serves as a key knowledge source in her field, both within and outside the agency.
Additional recipients of the President’s Medal of Excellence include:
D., Senior Officer in the Samaria District; H., Coordinator in the Southern District; L., Division Head in the Personal Security Unit; L., Head of the Salary Planning Branch in the Human Resources Division; R., Branch Head in the Operations Department at Headquarters, and B. and Y., from the Special Operations Division..
