Yuval Diskin
{{Short description|Ex-director of Israel's Shin Bet}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox spy
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Yuval Diskin
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| image = Yuval Diskin .jpg
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| service = Shin Bet
| serviceyears = 1978–2011
| rank = Director-General
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age |1956|6|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Givatayim, Israel
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| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Intelligence officer
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|native_name=יובל דיסקין|native_name_lang=he}}
Yuval Diskin ({{langx|he|יובל דיסקין}}; born June 11, 1956[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Personalities/From+A-Z/Yuval+Diskin+appointed+ISA+Director+10-Feb-2005.htm Yuval Diskin appointed ISA director]) is a former director of the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet, serving as its 13th director from 2005 to 2011. He was appointed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and later served under subsequent Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Career in the secret service, 1978-2011
In 1990, he was appointed head of department in Shabak's Counter Terrorism Division, which was responsible for the collection and analysis of intelligence and carrying out operations based on information received. In 1993 he was entrusted, by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and then-director general of the Shabak Yaakov Peri, to establish ties with the Palestinian security forces as part of the Oslo Peace Accord.[http://article.yedioth.co.il/default.aspx?articleid=4977 Al Kotzo Shel Yod], Yedioth Ahronoth, 27.5.2011 (Hebrew)
On May 15, 2005, he was appointed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to replace Avi Dichter as the Director of the Shin Bet.
During his tenure as Director, Diskin led the development of the Shabak's cyber capabilities. These counter-cyberterrorism capabilities are both offensive—preventing terrorist and suicide attacks to the point of their termination in Israel.[http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/Information%20Systems%20and%20Technology/Pages/default.aspx Shabak Official Website]{{bsn|date=August 2023}}
In 2009, in an unusual act, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested Diskin to extend his service, due to his integral and unique role in maintaining the national security of Israel.[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3794865,00.html Diskin service extended], Ynet 25.10.2009
On May 15, 2011, Diskin was replaced as Director by his former deputy, Yoram Cohen.
In February 2015, Avi Primor, ex ambassador to Germany, introduced Diskin as the head of Diskin Advanced Technologies to Ferdinand Piëch, VW-CEO "as a favor". As a result of the meeting Diskin and Piëch founded a company named Cymotive Technologies in Herzliya, with 40% ownership through VW´s AutoVision, and 60% by Diskin Advanced Technologies, to close cybersecurity gaps of linked cars. Primor told Piëch about the impending dieselgate.{{cite web|title=Treffen mit Piëch: Israelischer Geheimdienst in VW-Abgasskandal involviert?|url=http://www.focus.de/finanzen/boerse/treffen-mit-piech-israelischer-geheimdienst-vermutlich-in-vw-abgasskandal-involviert_id_6620613.html|publisher=FOCUS Online|access-date=29 January 2018|language=de|date=9 February 2017}}
Views and opinions
In January 2013, prior to Israel's parliamentary elections, Diskin harshly criticized Binyamin Netanyahu´s leadership.{{cite news |title=Former Israeli Security Chief Calls Netanyahu a Poor Leader |work=New York Times |date=January 4, 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/world/middleeast/yuval-diskin-former-israeli-security-chief-calls-netanyahu-a-poor-leader.html }}
Diskin, along with former Mossad Director Meir Dagan and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, have been highly critical of the diplomatic positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition; since his retirement from the Shabak, he has spoken on a number of occasions on his view of the need for diplomatic progress vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority and the wider Arab world.{{cite news |title=Ex-Israeli Security Chief Diskin: 'All the Conditions Are There for an Explosion' |work=Der Spiegel |date=June 24, 2014 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-former-israeli-security-chief-yuval-diskin-a-982094.html }}
Honors
In 2012, Diskin was selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers for his standout contribution to the intellectual debate of foreign policy.[https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/11/26/the-fp-top-100-global-thinkers/ 2012 FP Top 100 Global Thinkers]
In 2012, Diskin, along with the other living former directors of the Shabak, was featured in a documentary film, The Gatekeepers in which he discussed some of the main events of his tenure in the Shin Bet and identified as a fluent speaker of Palestinian Arabic.The Gatekeepers (2012)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.facebook.com/yuval.diskin.9 Yuval Diskin], Official Facebook page
- [http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/History/heads/Pages/YuvalDiskin.aspx Yuval Diskin], Shabak website.
- [http://www.thegatekeepersfilm.com/diskin-en.html Yuval Diskin], The Gatekeepers website.
- [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-former-israeli-security-chief-yuval-diskin-a-982094.html Ex-Israeli Security Chief Diskin: 'All the Conditions Are There for an Explosion'], Der Spiegel, July 24, 2014.
- [http://www.geneva-accord.org/mainmenu/yuval-diskin-speech-to-geneva-initiative-10-year-conference-%E2%80%93-leading-the-way-to-peace-%E2%80%93-4-december-tel-aviv Yuval Diskin Speech to Geneva Initiative 10 Year Conference], December 4, 2013.
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WaZb2zMCNo Diskin's speech in HLA International Conference], 2012.
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxjmqQdvZeU Foreign Policy magazine: Top 100 Global Thinkers list for 2012 full of Israelis].
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDEDL4bFS4s IPRED III Keynote Lecture Yuval Diskin].
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBHSY1iKLAE The Gatekeepers (2012) - People Expect A Decision]
{{Heads of Shin Bet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diskin, Yuval}}
Category:Directors of the Shin Bet
Category:People from Givatayim
Category:University of Haifa alumni