"The rift in Israeli society is more dangerous than Iran and Hamas": Izenkot opens his mouth and shoots everywhere
What worries him more about the security situation, his criticism of the conduct towards the Palestinians and his disappointment with the decision-makers at the political level in the Elor Azaria affair.
Gadi Izenkot in an in-depth interview for the first time since his release from the IDF and just before the end of the cooling off. The first part of the interview - tomorrow at Maariv Weekend
Ben Mercury
20/01/2022
Thursday, 20 January 2022, 08:20 Updated: 09:24
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Most of all the external threats, what worries Gadi Izenkot, the 21st IDF Chief of Staff, is the social and internal cohesion of the State of Israel. "I think the rift in Israeli society and the mutual slash, the decline in governance, the decline in trust in state institutions, the courts, crime - all of these are the biggest threat to the future of the state," he said in an extensive interview to be published tomorrow in Maariv Weekend.
More than Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah?
"I do not stick to external threats, I deal with them all my life. The national resilience of Israeli society is the most important component of national security. Today I heard a 73-year-old woman come to Natan Zehavi and say she is exactly the state age and she is worried about her future. It is at least 51% of national security. The most important component. People are worried not because of the Iranian threat but because of the internal weakening, the loosening cohesion, the inequality, the frictions between the sectors, the non-absorption of whole publics into society. , And there is no social solidarity without national security.The Ben-Gurion approach, the melting pot, is in trouble.
"When I enlisted in the army in 1978, 88% of those required to enlist (Jews and Druze) enlisted in the IDF. When my youngest son enlisted in July 2015, 67% enlisted. And there's another syndrome: among those who enlist, more and more guys say we'll go for meaningful service, cyber, the 8200, the technology units. The willingness to go to war, to kill and be killed, to take risks, is on the decline. We must ensure that boys from Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias, Hatzor, Ofakim and Eilat have an equal opportunity. I was born in Tiberias, grew up in Eilat, headed the army. I see the data of who comes to serve in the advanced technology units. I would like to see an equal and appropriate representation there. I believe in it. "I'm not excited about the IDF's move south. I pushed it as a flagship project."
Izenkot also criticizes the situation with the Palestinians.
"A bi-national state is the end of the Zionist vision. You do not have to be a great genius to understand the meaning of millions of Palestinians involved within us, plus the complex situation vis-à-vis Israeli Arabs, which we also made very specific decisions over 75 years." .
Izenkot also offers a solution to the impasse with the Palestinians: "We are at the end of Abu Mazen's days, and an interim move of three to five years can be proposed, to improve reality and start building a bridge of reducing hostility and strengthening trust. A joint initiative of Israel, Palestinians, Egypt, Jordan "The United States, the Gulf, etc. The reality must change, because it leads to the vision of one state, which is the destruction of the Zionist dream."
More on Walla!
Gadi Izenkot took off his uniform, but remained "green"
To the full article
"The national resilience of Israeli society is the most important component of national security."
Izenkot (Photo: Reuven Castro)
One of the most difficult events during Izkot's tenure as chief of staff was the Elor Azaria affair. He admits that the conduct in front of the public could have been better:
But contrary to the impression created, I express myself in the media for the first time only after five weeks.
At this point I am silent.
The IDF Spokesman issues a statement that this is a serious incident, it is not within the framework of IDF norms and he will be questioned.
For that, there is no argument for me.
Azaria went through all the norms and all the orders. "
His great critique of the story of Azaria is on the political echelon.
"If I have a big disappointment, it is from the decision-makers at the political level. Within the army, there was no dilemma. There was a very broad consensus that the incident was unprofessional, unethical, illegal and should be treated as treated. Some politicians, however, take a stand and actually give. "I support Azaria's inappropriate behavior. We give it legitimacy. And I am not talking about Defense Minister Ya'alon and Minister Steinitz, who took a very courageous stance."
"While we are handling the Azaria incident, a group of young people are biasing public opinion. Send me a podcast with Yonatan Orich who is proud of how they turned public opinion on the head of the chief of staff and the defense minister.
"The prime minister's son and some young people are creating an agenda on social media and leading an attack on the chief of staff's head - this is unacceptable."
And maybe they'm right?
Maybe the norms should be that a terrorist does not come out alive from a terrorist attack?
With all due respect to the purity of weapons, is there a fight against terrorism here?
Next to kill,
"This is complete nonsense. I do not feel the need to explain it. The public knows that the IDF is a determined army that fights terrorism, kills terrorists, thwart terrorist attacks, suppresses a third intifada thanks to this determination that is both smart and moral and uses a lot of force in the south to stop the marches. The return and in the north against the most powerful player in the Middle East, the neighborhood bully, which is Iran.
It's the truth.
I have not seen a single case of hesitation in the IDF.
The first part of the interview - tomorrow at Maariv Weekend
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