Former justice and interior minister Ayelet Shaked said she will soon decide whether to re-enter politics and run in the next election, in an interview with Maariv’s Miki Levin on Friday.
Shaked called for a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failures, criticized the government’s handling of the “Qatargate” affair, and urged judicial changes made “with the system,” not against it. The ex-minister also addressed the Haredi draft bill debate and her transition to the private sector.
Shaked said she was proud of diversifying the bench during her tenure, arguing that a heterogeneous court better reflects Israeli society.
She rejected efforts to “steamroll” the judiciary, saying reforms should be evolutionary and coordinated with the system.
“I do not believe in trampling the system. You have to work with it and change it. That’s how it is in every system: justice, health, education, the army – these are very large systems. If you want to move something, you don’t do a ‘bang,’ a sharp turn, and think it will straighten out to what you want,” she said.
Calling October 7 “the greatest disaster for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Shaked said it is “inconceivable” that no state commission has been formed.
Shaked said Israel “must” establish a state commission of inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Law, adding that Supreme Court President Issac Amit could delegate appointment authority to Deputy President Noam Sohlberg to overcome political gridlock.
She proposed that, if the government objects to the court’s role in naming commissioners, Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit could delegate appointment authority to Deputy President Noam Sohlberg to select members, challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the solution.
“It didn’t happen because Netanyahu simply does not want to appoint a commission of inquiry. Period. No matter which one. Meaning – he doesn’t want the appointment not to be in his hands, that he won’t choose the people. And therefore, he does not appoint a commission of inquiry.”
Shaked said elections are likely between June and September or October, and that she “will soon have to decide” whether to run.
“When the moment comes, I promise I will inform everyone. This is a decision that needs to be made with the family, even though they tell me: Do whatever you want – we will support you in everything,” she said.
“At every stage of my life, I try to do what I can for the benefit of my country. Even today, in civilian life, I act voluntarily: I am chairwoman of an association of Schneider Children’s Medical Center. I help bereaved families, the wounded, people – wherever I can. I speak before Jewish communities around the world. Even when I am not part of the political system.”
She remains in close contact with former prime minister Naftali Bennett but said politics has grown “dirtier” and more extreme.
Netanyahu 'changed' after Qatargate affair, indictment
Shaked asserted that Netanyahu changed course after his indictment, shifting from opposing judicial changes to embracing them.
“He has changed a lot,” she said. “And for two reasons. With the filing of the indictment, he changed. Until then, he opposed any change to the judicial system – he was adamant about it, even regarding minor changes. He would not agree under any circumstances to make any change unless the attorney general agreed. In my view, that was extreme – he was unwilling to make any changes.”
“And since the indictment, it has become a completely different era and a different world. And another thing needs to be said: the boycott against him by the other bloc, this explicit ‘Anyone but Bibi,’ allowed him to form the government he has now.”
She said his preference for forming governments solely within his political bloc has harmed the country and urged building a broad coalition of center-right and center-left parties after years of polarization.
Recalling her leadership of a 2014 draft framework, Shaked called the current proposal a “shirking law,” saying decades of attempts have failed to increase enlistment.
She argued that only enforcement through funding levers will work: benefits for those who serve and none for those who do not.
“The only way is through the pocket: whoever does not enlist gets nothing. Everything for those who serve and zero for draft dodgers. No subsidized housing, no daycare subsidies, and no kollel stipend,” she said.
On the “Qatargate” investigation, Shaked said it is unacceptable for any Prime Minister’s Office staff, acting in an official capacity, to advance the interests of a foreign state, especially Qatar, which she labeled a de facto enemy for financing Hamas and anti-Israel activity.
“If Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir were today in the opposition, and something like this had happened in Bennett’s office or that of any other prime minister – it would have been ‘swords and daggers,’” she insisted.
She said Netanyahu’s response to the affair appears “suspicious,” arguing he should have acted decisively once informed.
“If I had discovered that my employees were working for Qatar, first of all, they would not have worked with me, and they would not have received a salary from me for even one additional day. I would have immediately called the Shin Bet and the police and said, ‘Investigate and check what happened here,’ because if those two employees worked for Qatar, there may be others. This is very strange.”
Asked about criticism in Haaretz regarding her career as a presenter for Kardan Real Estate while serving as the company's chairwoman, she responded that the criticism was motivated by “chauvinism, hypocrisy, and jealousy.”
“Truly, when I saw it, I immediately wrote a response, and to the credit of Haaretz, it published my reply alongside the disgusting article by the opinions editor. But look at the misogyny and the bitterness.”
Discussing her personal life, Shaked said that at 49, she hasn’t had any cosmetic work done.
“It’s probably genes – half Iraqi, half Ashkenazi. Many of my friends do it – I still don’t feel the need. There are those who do it less successfully and those who do it well. Everyone should do what is good for them. I do a lot of sports: Pilates twice a week, weights at home, I try to watch my diet – but I really, really love chocolate and carbohydrates.”
Shaked concluded by wishing that 2026 would bring Israel a strong economy, driven by the private sector, and that Israelis “learn to respect and listen to one another more,” even if all rifts cannot be fully healed.