Militaryרונן בר

Ronen Bar

Ronen Bar is an Israeli intelligence officer who served as director of the Shin Bet from 2021 to 2025.

born 1965Directing the Shin BetThe 2025 dismissal disputeShin Bet Operations Division head

Born: 24 December 1965, Rehovot
Occupation: intelligence officer, director, spy
Education: Tel Aviv University, Harvard University

Ronen Bar was born in 1965 in Rehovot

Ronen Bar was born in Rehovot under the name Ronen Beresovsky. His father was Dr. Noah Berezovsky.

He joined the IDF in 1984 and served as a soldier and officer in Sayeret Matkal until 1988. He then opened a cafe in Tel Aviv. He earned a BA in political science and philosophy from Tel Aviv University and an MA in public management from Harvard University, and he speaks Arabic.

Bar joined the Shin Bet in 1993 as a field agent in an operational unit. He became the unit's deputy head in 2001 and its commander in 2005. In 2011 he was named head of the Operations Division, in 2016 head of the force development division, and in 2018 deputy to director Nadav Argaman.

He became director of the Shin Bet on 13 October 2021. After the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, he took responsibility for the failure to thwart it. In March 2025 the government voted to dismiss him, and the Supreme Court suspended the decision and later declared the dismissal unlawful. He resigned in April 2025, and his term ended on 15 June 2025.

Bar is married to Dafna, a sister of entrepreneur Shai Agassi.