In a confidential letter sent to Netanyahu and Bennett, Chief of Staff, Major General Kochavi: Transferred to the IDF the responsibility to deal with the epidemic • It is evident that he tried to avoid interference with the Cabinet Ministers • The IDF: "There is ongoing dialogue with the political echelon throughout the crisis From an expansive concept of responsibility "
Chief of Staff at Home Front // Photo: IDF Spokesman
Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett last week asking him to hand over to the IDF the responsibility for dealing with the Corona crisis.
The chief of staff's letter was sent to a minimal extent, and its contents were known only to a very limited number of people. This was partly because Kochavi wanted to avoid being caught in the political confrontation between Netanyahu and Bennett, and in an argument over the crisis management from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Defense.
Fast-track documentation: This is how soldiers packed hundreds of shipments for seniors // Photo: IDF Spokesman
He stars in his letter eight issues, which he believes need to be transferred to the IDF immediately. Among other things, he writes, the IDF should be responsible for conducting the tests in order to achieve a much larger scope of testing than is currently being done. The Chief of Staff further believes that the IDF should use its capabilities to concentrate all the information collected on the Corona issue in order to enable its optimal extraction. As mentioned, the chief of staff lists other issues in which the IDF has a distinct advantage that should give it the lead.
The letter of the chief of staff seals that the IDF is immediately ready to assume full responsibility for the plague. The IDF has been preparing for this possibility since the outbreak of the crisis, and the army leadership is unanimous that it was during a request that should have been made a few weeks ago. However, the chief of staff has so far avoided a firm opinion on the issue so as not to get caught up in the political battlefield. The IDF concentrated on fulfilling the tasks assigned to it and on frequent proposals to undertake additional tasks in many areas.
It is possible to assume that Kochavi's move - a wise and state person - expresses the dissatisfaction in the IDF with the way the crisis is being managed. This does not necessarily identify with the minister in charge, but a bright and disturbing warning sign. Like the IDF, things are formulated by way of harnessing the national effort and readiness It should be the burden, but between the lines it is impossible to mistake what the greatest experts in Israel think of national crises, about how the greatest crisis in the history of the country is managed.
Response from the IDF Spokesperson: "The IDF maintains an ongoing dialogue with the political echelon throughout the crisis, with a concept of expansive responsibility, as far as possible. We will not address the content of the issues in the above discussion."
Similar things have been heard in recent days by almost everyone involved in the Corona crisis. It is a long line of factors - one of the best in Israel - who volunteered, a man in his field, to help deal with the epidemic. There are academics, doctors, high-tech and industry executives, generals and communications experts, all of them Israeli-caliber and some of them on a global scale.
The Ministry of Health is having a hard time
It is clear to everyone that the crisis is huge on the shoulders of the Ministry of Health. Examples of this are plentiful. The most troubling issue is the paucity of tests, but also every other issue - from logistics and procurement, through nursing home and overseas care, to research and labs - is having difficulties with the Ministry of Health, and is further evidence of its inability to cope with the challenge. Of the heads of the Ministry of Health, the messengers say the reason is that even talented people cannot manage such a crisis, with a weak and poor office and resources behind them.
The bottom line is the same: The Ministry of Health has trouble answering. It is not for the sake of commanding cities in the crisis of former generals, nor health experts. First Major General (res.) Ronnie Nome in Bnei Brak, then Brigadier General (res.) Gal Hirsch Balad, Major General (res.) Yossi Bachar in Betar Illit, and former Shin Bet Chief Eric Barbing in Beit Shemesh.
The mayors (fully backed by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri) realized that such a complex crisis required the ability to manage complicated systems in war, and the only ones capable of doing so were those who actually experienced it.
A similar move is likely to take place in the next few days in other cities, and it is possible that in some Arab and Bedouin localities too, which according to all estimates are expected to climb to the top of the morbidity centers in the coming days.
But the token that fell at the municipal level is not yet falling at the national level. The crisis is managed by the Prime Minister's Office for National Crisis Management (CEO), which opens up very late and finds it difficult to cope with the challenge - partly because it is, in fact, subject to the Ministry of Health.
All experts believe that a triple and immediate solution is needed: appointment of "Corona Cabinet", which will include the relevant Ministers (Prime Minister, Defense, Health, Finance, Economy, Welfare and Internal Security) to convene daily; In the crisis and will be directly subject to Netanyahu; And transferring responsibility to the Home Front Command and the National Emergency Authority in the Ministry of Defense. This will ensure that the two most critical processes happen most quickly and efficiently - maximizing human life, and managing the crisis in a way that will allow the economy to return to activity as soon as possible.