Royal Yisraeli Security Service
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| Royal Yisraeli Security Service שומרים | |
|---|---|
 Insignia of the Royal Security Service | |
| Common name | Shomrim (lit. "watchful guards") |
| Abbreviation | RYSS |
| Motto | מגן ולא יראה "The unseen shield" |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1952 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Employees | Classified |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency (Operations jurisdiction) | Yisrael |
| Operations jurisdiction | Yisrael |
| Legal jurisdiction | Yisrael |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Yerushalayim, Yisrael |
| Agency executive |
|
The Royal Yisraeli Security Service (Modern Hebrew: שומרים), also referred to as the Shomrim or RYSS (colloquially), is the internal security service and domestic intelligence agency of Yisrael. Its duties include safeguarding state security, counter-terrorism, counterintelligence and counter-espionage, and securing important infrastructure and government buildings.
It works closely with Yisraeli Intelligence and the border guard. It has been accused by domestic and foreign critics and opponents, including self-described "good-government watchdog" organizations as being an alleged "secret police" force that exercises extrajudicial punishments including unlawful surveillance, intimidation, torture, imprisonment, and killing of perceived enemies and opponents of the Kingdom; charges that Yisrael strenuously objects to.
Role and mandate
The Shomrim has evolved from strictly a state security organ to an elite domestic intelligence agency as well as a parapolice and paramilitary force. Its critics and enemies allege it has blossomed into a secret police organization lacking in accountability and conduct tactics such as torture to gain information.
It guards the country's most important government and military installations. It's most important role, however, is that of counterintelligence and counterespionage. The RYSS ensures the security of the Kingdom by fighting the Christian terrorist campaign and undermining foreign intelligence and criminal operations within the nation.
In total, the RYSS's duties include but are not limited to:
- Protecting Yisrael from terrorism, largely home-grown Christian terrorism;
- Protecting Yisrael against foreign intelligence operations and espionage;
- Combatting global and national criminal organizations and enterprises;
- Combatting significant violent and political crimes (especially public corruption);
- Protecting the Royal Government's physical infrastructure and facilities;
- And other related duties (such as fugitive searches, etc).
History
The Shomrim, like its sister organization Yisraeli Intelligence, originated from the Royal Yisraeli Secret Service, a royalist state security and secret police organization under the immediate control of the King. The Secret Service survived the 1919 Revolution when the Constitutional Liberal leadership decided to co-opt rather than dismantle the organization by installing its own supporters as civilian oversight. However, the Secret Service internal culture often ended up "co-opting" these otherwise liberal, reformist figures, and it remained a powerful political force through the 1930s and 1940s, when the Autocracy regime took control of it during its reign.
In the aftermath of the Year of Blood, the Secret Service's reputation was in tatters, and the 1952 Royal Reform Acts reorganized it into separate agencies, disjointing its foreign and domestic intelligence services and national security mandates into two independent organizations. It was believed at the time that this would severely limit the Royal Government's ability to surveil and control Yisraeli society as it had under General David Azoulay in the 1940s.
Since the Yarden Accords in 1973, however, the pro-Sydalene general campaign of terror against Yisrael by domestic Christians has caused both Yisraeli Security and Yisraeli Intelligence to once again work hand-in-hand to combat this and other important threats to the Kingdom's internal security.
Organization
The Shomrim is believed to have three divisions:
- Christian Affairs Department: responsible primarily for Christian-related counterterrorism activities in Yisrael, particularly the Yarden River Valley.
- Non-Christian Affairs Department: responsible for non-Christian security issues and cooperation with foreign security agencies; previously concerned with the Sydalene, Latin, and other allied unfriendly intelligence services.
- General Security Department: responsible for protecting high-value locations and buildings in the country, mostly government facilities.
Gallery
A Shomrim field assault team, in slate blue uniforms and special weapons and assault team gear, prepare to storm a suspected terrorist safe house in the Yarden River Valley, c. 2015.
Two plainclothes RYSS agents (center, back) guarding President Noah Feldman and his son during a visit to Remnant Wall in Yerushalayim.
An armed Shomrim agent outside the Royal Knesset building while the legislative body is in session, c. 2018.
