Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his acting chief of staff, Ziv Agmon, following the emergence of leaked comments in which Agmon reportedly made racist and disparaging remarks.
“Ziv Agmon will leave his post in the coming days once his successor, Ido Norden, takes office,” Netanyahu said in a post on X late Sunday. Agmon, who also served as spokesperson, allegedly referred to Jews of Moroccan descent as “baboons” and criticized members of Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the prime minister’s wife and son.
The move marked a sudden reversal from an earlier statement by Netanyahu, in which he told Likud’s official Telegram channel that he wanted Agmon to remain in his role for the sake of “stability and continuity.”
Norden, a lawyer and economist, now set to replace Agmon, chairs the right‑wing “Forum of Senior Officials,” a think-tank advocating for ideological diversity in Israel’s public sector. He has faced scrutiny after reports that he created fake X accounts to promote his book on the “deep state,” attributing Israel’s failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack to shadowy institutional forces. His appointment is still pending vetting by the Shin Bet domestic security service.
The shake-up adds to ongoing turbulence in Netanyahu’s inner circle, following police questioning of ally Tzachi Braverman over alleged interference in a Gaza war leak investigation and scrutiny related to the “Qatargate” scandal, where former aides are accused of accepting Qatari funds to improve the country’s image in Israel.
