Last Updated on December 10, 2021
What is Shin Bet? Learn this Hebrew abbreviation – ש”ב
Through the latest Israel news headlines, we have been learning new Hebrew words, topical phrases and abbreviations based on the latest news headlines.
So far, we’ve learned these:
Today, we are sharing another topical and good-to-know abbreviation with you – ש”ב . Let’s proceed….
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | Also known as… |
| ש”ב | Shin Bet | The Israel Security Agency | Shabak |
The Israel Security Agency, better known by the acronym Shin Bet (ש”ב) or Shabak (שב”כ), is Israel’s internal security service.
The Shin Bet is one of three principal organizations of the Israeli intelligence community, alongside Aman (military intelligence) and the Mossad (foreign intelligence service).
Why is the Shin Bet in the headlines?
The Shin Bet was instructed to use their databases of geo-location data on Israeli citizens to retrace the steps of people who were found to be carriers of the coronavirus. The program was designed to warn people who’d come into contact with coronavirus carriers. This information was used to warn people that they might have been infected and that they must isolate themselves and enter self-quarantine. After 3 months of continuous use, the Shin Bet was required to halt their surveillance activities on June 9th, 2020.
On July 1st, 2020 as a result of a steep rise in coronavirus cases in Israel, 53 Knesset members voted in favor of the Shin Bet to continue tracking for another 3 weeks, and 38 voted against.
