There has never been such a period in the history of the IDF. Worries have always been, sometimes even existential worries. But they always came from an enemy, not from someone who is supposed to be a lover. The events of the past few months have not only rocked the ship – they threaten to split it.
What has been published so far is just the tip of the iceberg. The real rift is much deeper. Its essence is in the reserves, but it quickly permeates the permanent army as well. Officers in various formations clearly say they are considering retiring or not extending a contract. Many of them are outstanding, including some that are unique centers of knowledge. They are irreplaceable, certainly not in the pull-out. This is a net blow to state security. The situation is also getting worse in the regular army: internal arguments, question marks. The IDF is trying to bridge this in talks with commanders. It's like paracetamol for a serious disease: solves local problems, nothing more.
The chief of staff tried to warn against all this in a series of conversations and letters – no one listened to him. The head of Military Intelligence also tried to warn, as required by his position, and encountered a sealed wall. They sought to reflect not only the picture in the IDF, but also that of the enemy: Israel is torn, conflicted, weakened, less well prepared for war and much less backed up from within and by the world. In this context, distancing itself from Washington is critical: Israel's enemies perceive it, with a great deal of justice, as an Archimedean point.
The government has the right to decide against the opinion of the military. That's how it is in a democracy. The government has no right to ignore the warnings. It is her duty to listen, discuss and decide. She didn't, nor does she, because she has no interest in hearing. In distress, the heads of the editorial board began to write. There will be those who see this as part of their professional duty: what politicians don't want to hear, they will read. Some will see this as part of a legal defense: they are covering themselves up for a future commission of inquiry that will be set up to discuss the enormous failure that is happening to us live.
Government. The government promised to promote four issues: Iran, Saudi Arabia, personal security and the cost of living. Of these, only on one issue – the least important of them – is it turning worlds around in order to succeed: Saudi Arabia. Leaving aside for a moment the price that Israel has to pay (mainly its agreement to a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia, contrary to every doctrine and professional logic that has accompanied it for the past 40 years) – one has to wonder what about the other three issues.
In their distress, the heads of the security system began to write. Some will see this as part of their professional duty. Some will see this as part of a legal defense: they are covering themselves up for a future commission of inquiry, which will be set up to discuss the enormous failure that is happening to us live
The situation vis-à-vis Iran is bad, perhaps the worst it has been in recent decades. The Iranians got on the horse, and wisely avoided going nuclear. They cook the frog slowly, which will get used to the heat until it dies. It's not really interesting to the world. By the time he wakes up, if he does, it will be too late. In the past, Israel knew how to influence such processes, but in its current international situation, its influence is marginal to negative.
On the cost of living and personal security it is unnecessary to elaborate. As far as governance is concerned, the State of Israel is in a process of disintegration, and not only in the Arab sector. Everyone does whatever they want, everywhere, knowing they won't pay a price. The only price we pay is in the supermarket: it will only increase with the expected decline in the economy, high interest rates, the dollar exchange rate and the flight of investment. The finance minister, who paints the opposite process, should immediately receive the Nobel Prize for economics or charlatanism, with clear preference for the second option.
In the not-too-distant past, such matters kept Benjamin Netanyahu asleep. Economy and security were his claim to fame. Not anymore. He refuses to listen, to see, to internalize. What he has to say he says in English. Not the citizens of Israel who elected him (and those who did not) are entitled to answers, they are just a device, or a wallet, or cannon fodder, depending on the period. His target is the average American — all in a desperate attempt to get to the White House.
The editor of this supplement, Eitan Orkibi, called on Netanyahu this week to speak in Hebrew, to Israelis. To be interviewed, to deal with difficult questions, to give answers. It was a just and naïve call. Netanyahu hasn't been interviewed in Hebrew for years, unless it's to recite pages of messages before elections ("We will defeat Hamas" style). He is afraid of probing interviewers and difficult questions. It's true that the average American interviewer is kinder than his Israeli counterpart, but his main advantage elsewhere: he is less in control of the data and less involved, and it is easier to deceive him and smear him with half-lies.
Police. The Internet was buzzing this week with pictures of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a Border Police uniform during a tour with the police commissioner. Some of the jokes touched on him: except for Purim, this was the first time he wore a uniform. Some corresponded with historical events: Ben-Gvir was seen there as Yitzhak Rabin's son at the Western Wall, or Ariel Sharon's at Sinai.
Politicians who wear uniforms exist only in dark regimes. It cannot be argued that the role of those in uniform is to obey the instructions of the political echelon, and then wear the same uniform. You can't wear them either, because the uniform is supposed to be free of all politics and every politician. And you can't wear them like a neighborhood camp shirt. These are uniforms that have to be earned through sweat, effort, hard work.
Moshe Ben Simhon
The police commissioner made the mistake of giving his minister in charge a uniform with a name tag. I'm sure he wanted good, but the result was bad. She again taught that the police grovel, lecturing, directionless. A minute later, she justified all these superlatives, when a group of Tel Aviv Special Patrol Unit officers came to demonstrate for their friends who were interrogated by the DIP. You have to read this to understand the intensity of the incident: police officers demonstrate (illegally) against a (legal) investigation at a political event (i.e., take sides in the argument).
We will all see the results on the street. The message permeates: violence has its back, and worse, there are those who knowingly fan it. Some in deed, some in speech. Read Yehuda Schlesinger's interview with Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz, which is published in this supplement today. Read the way he speaks, at this time, in the face of this rift, in the face of the thick fog that envelops our future here. I am convinced that Katz opposes violence, but there are those who will interpret his words – the desire to "defeat the first Israel," so originally – as confirmation to act in every way to achieve the goal. Among those who do not believe, a manners and manners workshop led by Rami Ben Yehuda and Itzik Zarka will be drawn.
Not to win they want, but to run over. Trampling. Shatter any trace of what was. Let's put aside for a moment who this enemy of theirs is – the builders and defenders of the land, who turned its economy and science and technology into world wonders – and wonder what they want to have here instead. What army will they have left, and what police, and what economy and what education, and most importantly, what future, for God's sake. Because it seems that in the face of the destructive binge gripping Israel, only God can help.
Israel deserves more than all of these. Sanity, logic, confidence in all respects. At the moment, the train is racing in the opposite direction, without restraints. It is necessary for someone to lift the handbrake and stop, just before we all descend into the abyss.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us