The hysteria blown out of proportion by Settlement Minister Orit Strzok, who called the heads of the defense establishment the "Wagner Force" and retracted it, refuses to die.
It is fanned by news editors and opposition figures. The latter explain to the public in a way that leaves no room for doubt who can criticize whom and with what words exactly, and there are those who go so far as to throw into the hot discussion space calls to fire the minister, no less.
Why did Strzok compare the heads of the defense establishment to a notorious mercenary organization that launched a military rebellion against Putin? Because of a joint statement by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, published on Saturday night, which said: "In recent days, violent attacks have been carried out in Judea and Samaria by Israeli civilians against innocent Palestinians. These attacks go against every moral and Jewish value, and they are also nationalist terrorism in every respect, and we are committed to fighting them."
Ostensibly, a reasonable announcement, especially due to the harsh scenes of the price tag actions of the hill boys in the Arab villages. But on second reading, difficult questions arise. For example: What is this forum of the police commissioner, chief of staff and head of the Shin Bet? Why did he gather?
Shabtai: "I do not intend to continue for a fourth year" // Archive photo: Police Spokesperson's Office
The content of the joint statement is also puzzling: Have you, the heads of the executive branch of the government, been given another role – to be its moral compass? This makes about as much sense as a rabbinical forum that would come out with a military plan to occupy Jenin. That's not your job.
It's hard not to feel a tone of rebuke of the government in the announcement. Clearly, you are committed to fighting these attacks. And you are fighting with all your might, with excessive and unbridled force. Who is stopping you? Fight, don't declare.
ISA Director Ronen Bar at the Cyber Week conference, photo: Coco
Even a paragraph in the announcement that blames the Jewish rioters for "intensifying Palestinian terror" is completely unfounded. After all, in the beginning there was terror, and the boys went to the villages after murdering their friends. Any attempt to reverse order is simply evil.
From the summit meeting of this troika of Halevi, Bar and Shabtai, a sharp political smell emerges at first. If the demand was substantive, it would be legitimate. If Shabtai had said: We don't have enough police officers to fight on this front, I would understand. Even if one of them blurted out some kind of value comment, we would smooth it out. But when the three people with the most soldiers in the country come along and issue a message that even slightly threatens the government, it smells bad. We are in favor of labor unionization, but a workers' committee composed of the three heads of the security forces is an unacceptable body in a democratic state.
Have you, the heads of the executive branch of the government, been appointed to its moral compass? This makes about as much sense as a rabbinical forum that would come out with a military plan to occupy Jenin. That's not your job
Nor does this message come out in a vacuum. The atmosphere of insubordination and civil disobedience cannot be blurred. I would expect the prudent heads of the defense establishment to exercise caution near such an explosive barrel.
Is it appropriate to use the term "Wagner Force" against these people? Of course not. Strzok understood this, too, and quickly backtracked, apologized and deleted the tweet. The thing that should be done now is that the Trinity will also repent.
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