"Public trust is a very significant component in the concept of victory":
Former Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Izenkot and Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon attended a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University today (Sunday), which dealt with national security and democracy. In the age of post-truth and Pike News.
Izenkot at the National Security and Democracy Conference in the Age of Post-Truth and Pike News // Photo: Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University
In his remarks, Izenkot referred to the operation to expose the terrorist tunnels in the north and to deal with Israeli public opinion: "What struck me, especially towards the end of my term, was the operation against the offensive tunnels in Lebanon. When we started this operation and tried to broadcast it to the people of Israel, we suddenly realized that there was a very big struggle here for public opinion. We saw the power of social networks and the Israeli media and the very unique, political reality of the country. "A decade and a very dangerous program, we found a media that broadcast completely different things - that everything was done for political reasons."
Destruction of Hezbollah's flagship tunnel located in Operation Northern Shield
He added: "We are making conscious efforts on the enemy but on the other hand the trust of the Israeli public is a very significant component in the concept of victory. "In the first days it was very difficult to explain - until we took journalists down to a depth of 84 meters and showed them the tunnel behind Zarit."
General Alon, who conducted the IDF investigation in the field of influence, referred to the IDF's performance in Operation Guardian of the Walls and said that "attacking AP offices in Operation Guardian of the Walls was a conscious self-attack, a self-inflicted goal for us. Not everyone in the IDF accepts It's but I'm convinced it's a mistake.
The operational achievement was not completely proportional compared to the diplomatic and mental damage that this created. "
The overthrow of the Al Jalaa tower in Operation Wall Guard, Photo: API
Alon added: "I think the success of the IDF in the overall dimension of consciousness is very partial.
There are a long list of lessons - the inter-organizational coordination, the organization within the IDF, the exploitation and utilization of existing technologies and many other lessons that I hope will be implemented within the IDF and in the national system.
I think we are still very weak in being able to influence broad public opinion in Gaza during fighting and cause this pressure to reach Hamas decision makers.
Yes it does of course have an impact on broad public opinion on the campaign itself.
"While fighting, it is very difficult to produce an effective effect on stopping the fighting or anything else, after all on aspects of deterrence, what do such and other moves certainly mean to have an effect."
