Nadav Argaman (; born 11 August 1960) was director of

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

from 8 May 2016 to 13 October 2021. He previously served as deputy head of Shin Bet, Operations Division chief, and the Shin Bet representative in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was appointed by Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

on 11 February 2016 and assumed office in May 2016.

Biography

Argaman was born to Amiram and Tikva in

Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon ( he, רָמַת הַשָּׁרוֹן, ''lit.'' '' Sharon Heights'', ar, رمات هشارون) is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon t ...

, and was raised, from the age of two, in

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Hamadia Hamadia ( he, חֲמַדְיָה) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley, just north of Beit She'an in northern Israel. It belongs to the Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a population of . Name The kibbutz took its name from al-Ha ...

. As he joined the Army in 1978 he volunteered to serve in the IDF's Special Forces unit

Sayeret Matkal General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262), more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal ( he, סיירת מטכ״ל) is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, General ...

, and served as a fighter and Platoon leader. In 1983 he joined the Shin Bet and served in various command and staff posts. Between 2003–2007 he served as head of the Shin Bet Operations Division and between 2007–2011 served as head of the Shin Bet security of North America. Then between 2011–2014 he served as deputy head of Shin Bet. Among other things, in November 2012 at the beginning of

Operation Pillar of Defense In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Pillar of Defense ( he, עַמּוּד עָנָן, ''ʿAmúd ʿAnán'', literally: "Pillar of Cloud") which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, which bega ...

he commanded the operation that assassinated the

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

military wing commander,

Ahmed Jabari Ahmed al-JabariAlso spelled Jaabari, Ja'bari or Ja'abari. ( ar, أحمد الجعبري; 1960; also known as Abu Mohammad) was a senior leader and second-in-command of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He was widely ...

. In September 2014 he was loaned to the Israel Atomic Energy Commission. In September 2015 he returned to the Shin Bet and was appointed deputy head of the organization. In February 2016

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

decided to appoint him to be the next Shin Bet chief, and on 8 May 2016 he assumed office, replacing his predecessor

Yoram Cohen Yoram Cohen ( he, יורם כהן; born 1960) is a retired Israeli security person who served as the Director of Shin Bet, from May 15, 2011 until May 8, 2016, when he was replaced by Nadav Argaman. Biography Cohen was born in Israel to Moshe a ...

. Immediately upon assuming position as chief, he presented a five-point work plan, including increasing the Shin Bet's capabilities in the areas of technology and cyber. In mid 2017, Argaman stated that the Shin Bet's cyber activity contributed to identifying and locating over 2,000 potential terrorists since 2016. In 2019 it was reported that approximately one third of the organization's manpower are technological people. During the riots on the Temple Mount in 2017, Argaman supported the decision to remove the metal detectors that were placed in the entrances to the Temple Mount. After the terrorist attack in the Israeli Embassy in Jordan, Argaman was sent to Jordan to discuss the release of the security guard who was assaulted. Argaman earned a BA and MA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

Haifa University The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming I ...

, and an additional master's degree in

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

and

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

from the National Security Studies Center at the Haifa University. Argaman is also a graduate of the Israeli National Security College. Argaman was succeeded by

Ronen Bar Ronen Bar is the director of Shin Bet since 13 October 2021. He previously served as deputy head of Shin Bet. Bar was appointed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his nomination was approved by Israel's cabinet on 11 October 2021. He assumed of ...

on 13 October 2021.

Personal life

Argaman was married to Ruth, the mother of his three children, and they are divorced. In 2020, he remarried to Anat, whom he met during their joint work in the Shin Bet. They live in

Rosh HaAyin Rosh HaAyin ( he, רֹאשׁ הָעַיִן, lit="fountainhead", , ar, روش هاعين) is a city in the Central District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southea ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argaman, Nadav Directors of the Shin Bet 1960 births Living people Israeli Jews University of Haifa alumni