Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his chief of staff, Ziv Agmon, following the publication of leaked comments in which he made racist remarks, including referring to Jews of Moroccan descent as “baboons.”
“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 had been serving as Netanyahu’s acting chief of staff and spokesperson, provoked outrage last week after reportedly disparaging members of Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the prime minister’s wife and son, in addition to the racist comment about Moroccan Jews.
Norden’s appointment represented a sudden reversal. Less than two hours earlier, the Likud party’s official Telegram channel had quoted Netanyahu saying he wanted Agmon to remain in the post for the sake of “stability and continuity.”
However, Norden has drawn scrutiny of his own. Israeli journalists reported Monday that he had created fake X accounts to promote his book on the “deep state,” in which he attributes Israel’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, to shadowy institutional forces.
Norden’s appointment is still subject to vetting by the Shin Bet domestic security service. A lawyer and economist, Norden chairs the “Forum of Senior Officials,” a right-wing think-tank that advocates for greater ideological diversity within Israel’s public sector.
Netanyahu has faced repeated turmoil within his staff over the years. Recently, his close ally Tzachi Braverman — designated as Israel’s future ambassador to London — was questioned by police over alleged interference in a leak investigation linked to the Gaza war. Netanyahu’s inner circle has also faced ongoing scrutiny in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, where former aides are accused of taking Qatari money to improve Qatar’s image in Israel during the conflict.
