Avi Dichter

Abraham Moshe "Avi" Dichter (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם (אָבִי) מֹשֶׁה דִיכְטֶר, IPA: [ˈavi ˈdiχteʁ]; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician currently serving as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Development. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset and left Kadima in August 2012 in order to become Minister of Home Front Defense, a position he vacated in March 2013.

Avraham (Avi) Dichter was born in Ashkelon. His parents were Holocaust survivors from Poland. As an adolescent, he joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. After graduating high school, he served in an elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces, Sayeret Matkal, under then Commander Ehud Barak. Upon completing his military service, Dichter joined Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. In 1986, he earned a BA in Social Science from Bar-Ilan University, in Ramat Gan. He also has an MBA from Tel Aviv University.

In 1973, he married Ilana Wallerstein, a teacher and artist who he had met in high school. They have three children.

Dichter began his career in Shin Bet as a sky marshal for the Israeli airline El Al. After becoming proficient in Arabic and completing field intelligence courses, he began working in the Shin Bet's Southern District, specifically the Gaza Strip. In 1992, he was appointed director for the region. Aiming to improve the Shin Bet's protection capabilities, Dichter was appointed Director of the Security and Protection Division. In 1999, he became Deputy Director of Shin Bet. In 2000, he was promoted to director.

During his tenure, the Palestinians launched the Second Intifada. Under Dichter's leadership, Shin Bet changed its modus operandi and restructured its mission and duties to serve at the forefront of Israel's security and counter-terrorism efforts. The organisation spearheaded counter-insurgency and intelligence operations deep inside the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, thereby reducing the number of attacks against Israel.

In September 2005, Dichter left office and became a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Several months later, he returned to Israel and announced his foray into politics with the newly established Kadima. He was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 2006, and on 4 May that year was sworn in as the Minister of Internal Security. In this role, he oversaw Israel's law enforcement system including Israel's Police Force and Prison Service.

As Minister of Public Security, Dichter made several reforms in the fields under the auspices of the ministry. These included budgetary and organizational reform, the building of a Witness Protection Program, and the formation of a national crime fighting unit (Lahav 433) similar to the United States' FBI. In 2007, Dichter canceled a trip to the United Kingdom over concerns that he would be arrested on war crimes charges for his role in the assassination of Salah Shehade.

After Ehud Olmert resigned as party leader, Dichter entered the leadership election. However, he came fourth with only 6.5% of the vote. He retained his seat in the 2009 elections after being placed ninth on the party's list, but lost his cabinet portfolio as the Likud-led coalition formed the government.