Short answer: As of August 2026, Yuval Diskin, who led Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service) from 2005 to 2011, is a harsh critic of the current Israeli government and its settlement policy, but nothing in the public record shows him supporting a boycott of Israel, opposing Israel's existence, or distancing from Jewish or Israeli identity. He is a career Israeli security official turned outspoken Netanyahu critic who argues Israel must reach a two-state agreement to survive as a Jewish and democratic state, not someone who has turned against Israel itself.
What Yuval Diskin has actually said and done
- 1978 to 2011: Diskin served 33 years in Shin Bet, rising to become its director-general in May 2005 (appointed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) and serving through the Olmert government and into the early Netanyahu years, until May 2011, according to Wikipedia's biography of Diskin.
- July 2013: Diskin publicly warned that without a two-state agreement, Israel would be left with "one state from the river to the sea for two peoples," a result he called an existential threat to Israel's identity as a Jewish and democratic state, and he urged the government to open diplomatic talks with the Palestinians, per The Jerusalem Post and Tablet Magazine.
- 2013: Diskin said Netanyahu had been "one of the main people contributing to Hamas's strengthening" going back to his first term as prime minister, an early marker of Diskin's ongoing criticism of Netanyahu's security record, framed as concern for Israel's security rather than opposition to Israel, as noted in Wikipedia.
- 2016: Diskin co-founded Cymotive Technologies, an Israeli automotive-cybersecurity company with Volkswagen as an early partner, and has chaired it ever since; the company has remained headquartered and operating in Israel, according to CTech (Calcalist).
- December 2023: After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Diskin said publicly that Netanyahu's conduct in its aftermath, showed the prime minister was unfit to lead, as reported by The Times of Israel and Ynetnews.
- June 22, 2024: Diskin addressed the weekly anti-government protest on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, telling the crowd "there is no time to save the country" and calling for continued protests until what he called the worst government in Israel's history, led by Netanyahu, is replaced. He framed his priorities as the return of the Gaza hostages, an active concern at the time, and improved regional security ties, including with Saudi Arabia, according to The Times of Israel.
- May 6, 2026: India's KPIT Technologies announced it would acquire a majority stake in Diskin's company Cymotive for up to $120 million, with Diskin continuing on as chairman. The deal is structured in stages through roughly mid-2029 and keeps Cymotive's operations centered in Israel, per Ynetnews and CTech (Calcalist).
Who Yuval Diskin is and what his criticism is actually about
Yuval Diskin (born June 11, 1956, in Givatayim) is a career Israeli security official, not a public figure known for boycotting or opposing Israel. He served in the IDF's Shaked unit, joined Shin Bet in 1978, and spent 33 years rising to become the agency's 13th director from 2005 to 2011, appointed by Ariel Sharon and serving under Ehud Olmert and the early Netanyahu government. His work included counterterrorism and building up Shin Bet's cybersecurity capability, and he later appeared in the 2012 documentary "The Gatekeepers" alongside other former Shin Bet chiefs. Since retiring from government service, he has built a private-sector career in Israeli cybersecurity, founding Diskin Advanced Technologies and co-founding and chairing Cymotive Technologies, the automotive-cybersecurity firm that in 2026 drew a majority-stake acquisition offer worth up to $120 million from India's KPIT Technologies, an investment that keeps the company and Diskin's role centered in Israel.
Politically, Diskin has been one of Israel's most persistent former-security-chief critics of Prime Minister Netanyahu, in the company of other retired security leaders such as the late Meir Dagan (former Mossad director) and Gabi Ashkenazi (former IDF chief of staff). His criticism consistently centers on what he sees as Netanyahu's mishandling of security and diplomacy, including a long-standing argument that continued settlement expansion without a path to a two-state solution puts Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state at risk, and, after October 7, 2023, criticism of Netanyahu's crisis response. He has spoken at Israeli anti-government street protests calling for new elections and a broader unity government, but always from within Israeli civil society and always alongside stated priorities like returning hostages and improving Israel's regional security position, not skepticism of Israel's right to exist or calls for external pressure or boycotts against it.
The bottom line
Yuval Diskin supports Israel as a state and has spent his career, first in Shin Bet and afterward in Israeli business, working within and for it. What he opposes is the current Netanyahu-led government and its settlement policy, which he argues endangers Israel's long-term character and security. No reputable source shows him boycotting Israel, opposing its existence, or repudiating his Jewish or Israeli identity. His public record is that of an insider critic pushing for a different Israeli government and a negotiated resolution with the Palestinians, not an opponent of the state.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
