The State Security Cabinet (SSC) ( he, הקבינט המדיני-ביטחוני, ''HaKabinet HaMedini-Bithoni'') or Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (NSAC- National Security Affairs Committee) ( he, ועדת השרים לענייני ביטחון לאומי, ''Va'adat HaSarim Le'Inyanei Bitahon leomi'') is a narrow forum of "Inner Cabinet" within the
Israeli Cabinet, headed by the
Prime Minister of Israel
The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...
, with the purpose of outlining a foreign and defense policy and implementing it. This smaller forum of the cabinet members, is designated to coordinate the diplomatic negotiations, and in times of crisis, especially war, it is designed to make quick and effective decisions.
The history and the idea behind the establishment of a Security Cabinet
The idea of establishing a Security Cabinet was initially part of the
Centre Party's platform of
1999 election, chaired by
Yitzhak Mordechai
Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai ( he, יצחק מרדכי, born 22 November 1944) is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1996 and 2001, and as Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport. He retire ...
. The party offered a new security plan, in which a Security Cabinet will be established for the purpose of implementing an effective peace and security plan. According to their platform, a new council for diplomatic planning and advising will be established, that will be headed by a person appointed by the Prime Minister, who will preside over small professional teams in the relevant fields. Furthermore, they suggested that the Prime Minister, Acting Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister, the Director-Generals of the Defense, Foreign, and Treasury ministries, as well as the
Chief of General Staff, chief 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, ...
, and the
Military Secretary to Prime Minister, will take part in the Security Cabinet meetings on regular basis, and that others presiding over the diplomatic negotiations or any other relevant officials will participate accordingly. The idea behind the Security Cabinet was to create a professional objective advising body to the Cabinet. The members would evaluate different situations, offer alternatives and oversight, and determine positions on the Cabinet and the army.
In practice, the forming of this body was based on section 6 of the "Government Law" of 2001
[Not the Basic Law: The Government (2001).] that stipulated the following:
The Government shall have a ministers committee composed of: The Prime Minister—chairman, Acting Prime Minister, if such was appointed, Defence Minister, Interior Minister, Internal Security Minister and the Treasury Minister.
The Government may, upon the proposal of the Prime Minister, coopt an additional members to the committee, provided that the number of its members not aggregate exceeding half of the Cabinet Members.
Concerning the issues the minister's committee on national security will tackle, the law stipulated that:
(A) The diplomatic-security and settling issues shall be debated within the committee.
(B) The daily agenda of the committee, and the officials to be invited to participate in its meetings shall be determined by the Prime Minister, after consulting with the minister in charge.
(C) The Minister in charge, prior to any decision making, may demand on any matter debated within the committee to be moved to a full Cabinet meeting to be debated and resolved. The aforementioned shall not apply, should the Prime Minister be ascertain, after consulting with the minister in charge, that the circumstances concerning the matter requires an immediate decision or that there are other circumstances that justifies the committee's decision.
The "War Cabinet"
During
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
, a group of ministers was formed arbitrarily, and had assumed responsibility for taking fundamental decisions during that war. This group became known as "The War Cabinet", and later was also nicknamed "
Golda's kitchen". The "War Cabinet" had made independent decisions during those emergency times, and the Government had approved those decisions only in retrospect. Against that background, already during those times, the question of the necessity and role of such a cabinet arose. On the other hand, some suggested that the Cabinet members should run the war as they see fit—without the need of getting anybody's approval.
The structure of the State-Security Cabinet
Cabinet members
* Permanent members:
Appointment by law:
#
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 ...
and
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
:
Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...
, Chairman
#
Alternate Prime Minister of Israel
The alternate prime minister of Israel ( he, ראש הממשלה החליפי, translit=Rosh ha-memshela ha-ḥalifi) is the ''de facto'' deputy of the prime minister of Israel and the second highest ranking cabinet minister, who is designated to ...
:
Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...
#
Defense Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
:
Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel sin ...
#
Internal Security Minister:
Omer Bar-Lev
#
Justice Minister
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
:
Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Moshe Sa'ar ( he, גִּדְעוֹן סַעַר; born 9 December 1966) is an Israeli politician who has served as Minister of Justice since June 2021. Sa'ar was previously a member of the Knesset for the Likud between 2003 and 2014, as De ...
#
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
:
Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...
Additional members:
#
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
:
Nitzan Horowitz
Nitzan Horowitz ( he, נִצָּן הוֹרוֹבִיץ; Transliterated: ; born 24 February 1965) is an politician and former journalist serving as Minister of Health since 2021. He is currently leader of Meretz. He previously was the chief U ...
#
Minister of Education:
Yifat Shasha-Biton
Yifat Shasha-Biton (, born 23 May 1973) is an Israeli educator and politician. She was appointed Minister of Education in June 2021. She was elected to the twenty-fourth Knesset on the New Hope list, after serving as an MK for Kulanu and Lik ...
#
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
:
Merav Michaeli
Merav Michaeli ( he, מֵרַב מִיכָאֵלִי, translit=Mērav Mīxāʾēlī; born 24 November 1966) is an Israeli politician, journalist, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently the leader of the Israeli La ...
#
Minister of Construction:
Ze'ev Elkin
Ze'ev Elkin ( he, זְאֵב אֵלְקִין; russian: Зеэв Элькин; born 3 April 1971) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Minister of Housing and Construction. He was previously a memb ...
#
Minister of Interior: Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet Shaked (; he, אַיֶּילֶת שָׁקֵד; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli politician, activist, and software engineer currently serving as Minister of Interior. She served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home from 2013 to ...
Permanent invitees:
*
Attorney General of Israel
The attorney general of Israel ( he, היועץ המשפטי לממשלה, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', lit. ''Legal Advisor to the Government'') heads the legal system of the executive branch and the public prosecution of the state. ...
:
Gali Baharav-Miara
*
NSC
NSC may refer to:
Sport and competition
* NSC United, an American soccer team
* National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition
* National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship
* National Sho ...
Chief:
Eyal Hulata
*
Military Secretary to the Prime Minister
The Military Secretary to the Prime Minister ( he, המזכיר הצבאי של ראש הממשלה, ''HaMazkir HaTzva'i Shel Rosh HaMemshala''), is the senior military adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel on military and national security issu ...
: Maj. General Avi Gil
Official authorization
*
Israel's security agencies' objectives and its policies.
* Issues concerning the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
, including the army's structure, deployment, alertness and its equipment, research and development in these fields, receiving the annual national intelligence estimate, and oversight on events evolving in these areas.
*Receiving information concerning intelligence matters, diplomatic issues, military and security operations.
See also
*
Kitchen Cabinet of Israel
The Kitchen ( he, המטבח, ''HaMitbah'') or The Kitchen Cabinet ( he, המטבחון, ''HaMitbahon'' or ''HaMitbachon'', lit. ''The kitchenette'') is a term used in Israeli politics to describe the collection of senior officials, or unofficia ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Security Cabinet Of Israel
Executive branch of the government of Israel
Law of Israel
Politics of Israel