Everyone Loves Security Chiefs: The People Who Went from Uniforms to Suits - and Were Elected to the Knesset

Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen joins a long tradition of security officials entering politics. Knesset data reveals that 14 former chiefs of staff, four Shin Bet heads, and three Mossad directors have served in the Knesset. The phenomenon is mainly associated with the center-left, but the right has also contributed generals. The 2007 cooling-off law requires a wait of about three years, changing the public profile of candidates.

The decision of former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen to enter politics joins a long tradition of senior security establishment figures moving to the Knesset. Knesset data shows that so far, 14 different chiefs of staff have served in the Knesset, including Yigal Yadin, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Benny Gantz, and Gadi Eisenkot. Alongside them, four former Shin Bet heads (Ami Ayalon, Avi Dichter, Yaakov Peri, and Isser Harel) and three Mossad directors (Meir Amit, Danny Yatom, and Isser Harel) have served. The article notes that the phenomenon is more associated with the center-left, with examples like Rabin, Barak, and Gantz, but the right has also contributed generals, such as Rehavam Ze'evi and Rafael Eitan. Since 2007, the cooling-off law requires heads of security branches to wait about three years before entering politics, which creates a loss of momentum and a shift for some to the business world. The article asks whether the trend will continue in the upcoming elections.