MK Orna Barbibai believes a woman will be the commander of the Air Force or the Navy • She still feels missed by joining Netanyahu, and believes that Lapid will be prime minister • Interview

Nine years ago, in 2011, the then chief of staff, Bnei Gantz, appointed Orna Barbibai as head of the IDF's Personnel Division. It was he who revealed the ranks of the first and only officer so far to become a champion. This is probably the reason why, despite the fact that she is very angry about the decision of Ganz and Gabi Ashkenazi to join the Netanyahu-led government, she - unlike her faction members - does not defame them. 

"Lapid after a blue-and-white split:" Ganz crawled into the Netanyahu government; Disappointing move

In an interview with her, Barbibai said that "this move by Ganz and Ashkenazi caused me pain. Although several months have passed since then, I live with a sense of loss. These are people I have walked with for decades." When asked if she could understand why Ganz did so, she replied, "I'm sure he thought it was the right move for him. I thought from the first moment it was a connection born of sin and that such a government would fail to function, and that was a very big violation of our election commitment."

Do you think that Blue and White bears the same responsibility as the Likud when it comes to the functioning of the government, or do you turn all criticism against Netanyahu?

"Blue and white is also responsible for the situation. This is one government with two heads, which fails to produce effectiveness in the way decisions are made. Especially today, when we need the most effective government, a small government that knows how to make decisions - we have an inflated government that does not know how to do that. "It is one of the hardships they have had. Their attempt to paint the protest as a political protest is also forced."

What do you think is the main failure of the government in conducting the campaign against the Corona? 

"The most serious thing is that there is no decision-making process and there is opacity towards the citizens. To suddenly discuss setting up a commission of inquiry against judges or annexing territories in Judea and Samaria in the midst of the fight against the corona, does that make sense to anyone? Sometimes I ask myself, why does it come to the public? Not to mention the waste of NIS 6 billion. Netanyahu is doing this to be distracting. I have no doubt that the policy of the struggle in Corona is determined by political considerations. "The public's trust in the leadership has disappeared, Netanyahu has failed miserably and the public is paying the full price."

Do you think this government will last?

"It depends on what suits Netanyahu. The tension we saw last Wednesday between the coalition partners reflects the loss of the road and the disconnection from the real needs of the public. You can already see the knives being pulled out within the Likud. The Likud has definitely good people, and I am convinced they have a hard time with "The situation is that there are three indictments against the prime minister. I am surprised that none of them arose." 

Is the opposition functioning?

"There are different parties in the opposition and each of them wants to maintain its character. We have a bad future giving a fight to the government. Suddenly the creators have turned around and we as an opposition are taking care of the public, while the coalition that uses its majority tyranny against the opposition, raises bills for citizens."

Do you believe that Yair Lapid has a chance to become prime minister? Does he have the capabilities and data for that?

"I think he is very fit. During the year and a half we have been working together he has shown me and my fellow factions determination and ability to produce an agenda and lead an excellent group of people. I think he has all the skills to be an excellent prime minister. I have no doubt if given the opportunity to lead This is infinitely better than the current government. "

Leaving the good people

Last week a taxi to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Personnel in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Now you will have the opportunity to visit the officers currently leading the ACA and see if everything is going properly.

"Absolutely. The challenges of human resources in the IDF are enormous, for example how we keep the best people in service, how the shortening of service affects the IDF, how we will ensure that we have a trained and competent reserve system. The chief of staff also understands that his most important challenge Today he is the human. I was sorry to hear that the Chief of Staff decided not to appoint Brigadier General Merav Kirshner as the head of the ACA. In my opinion, she could have been an excellent ACA head. "

How is the IDF of 2020 different from the army you enlisted in in 1981? 

"40-30 years ago, more than 80 percent of the IDF's professions were blocked for women. Today, the barrier that still exists for the advancement of women with the rank of major and lieutenant colonel Did not fulfill a series of roles that only men do. The fact that I, for example, did a track like men parallel to me, allowed me to be the head of the ACA.

 Do you think it's time to open up all the roles to women?

"Certainly. I think the task that the IDF has to deal with today is to open up all professions and positions to women. "In my opinion, the chief of staff should announce proactively that he is doing this. In the combat and operational units, there are positions in which there are no women, and there is no reason in the world not to open it." 

What is the proportion of women who do not currently enlist in the IDF because they declare that they are religious?

”Today, 44 percent of women do not enlist compared to 31 percent of men, but in public only men do not enlist. The data on women who do not enlist can show an increase in the number of women who do not enlist on the basis of a religious statement, and on the other hand, many women from religious Zionism enlist to do significant service in a variety of positions. "

Women for Chiefs of Staff 

Is there a chance that in the future we will see a woman in the position of chief of staff or commander of the Air Force or Navy?

"A situation where a woman will be commander of the Air Force or Navy will happen before she becomes a chief of staff, because there are already squadrons in the Air Force To the sea. In order to be a chief of staff, she must start the route from the bottom. Once this is done, it will be possible to run a woman to the chief of staff. 

Have you been to the Knesset for a limited period of time or do you aspire to remain in the political system?

"I came to the Knesset to stay and make an impact. My bad friends and I were the last to remain the gatekeepers. I feel I have a personal responsibility to be part of a group that keeps the Knesset eroding. Therefore, we have a perhaps more significant role than before, ". 

The girl from Afula who breaks the glass ceilings 

Orna Barbibai (57) was born in Ramla and grew up in Afula. Her father, Eli Shochatman, immigrated from Romania and her mother, Tzila Toys, immigrated from Iraq. Orna grew up in a family with children, is the eldest and has six brothers. 

When asked if she absorbed more of the Romanian customs and food or the Iraqi ones, she replies: "I unequivocally grew up with the large Iraqi family in Upper Afula. My mother has eight brothers and it is really a tribe. I understand Arabic well, but do not speak because I have no accent. And I do not want to sound ridiculous. "

In matters of food, too, she prefers Iraqi cuisine and praises the handmade Cuba ("I make Cuba a waste of time"). She met her husband when she was only 14 years old. She studied at a school in Afula and at the Kfar Galim boarding school.

Barbibai says that once a week she goes to visit her 82-year-old mother, who still lives in Amidar's apartment in Afula Illit, and the rest of the family. "I grew up in the periphery, and when I visit Afula I see up close the differences between the center and the periphery. So there is no reason to perpetuate the gaps, I fight to reduce them. There is a lot to do in this area in health, education and old age." 

She enlisted in the IDF in 1981 and did most of her service in the Third Corps in a wide variety of positions. In 2003 she was appointed a third in the Central Command, and two years later she was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and appointed a third third officer. In 2011, she was appointed head of the IDF and was promoted to the rank of major general, becoming the first and only officer in the IDF at that rank. 

When asked what made a young woman from Afula who grew up in a family with children have a successful military career, she says: "When I arrived in the army, a new world suddenly opened up to me. I was the first of the family to enlist in the IDF. I have always loved interacting with people, so I came to the IDF in the field of human resources because I wanted to engage in human resources. After only ten months I was already an officer. I felt that the army gave me an unlimited opportunity to do what I was good at, and things developed quickly. "My promotion, always a job chase. I never thought of getting to the top, but I felt I was given the opportunity to express my skills and that I had no barriers and boundaries. I always knew that if I focused on the task and fulfilled it on the best side, it would suffice."