Over the past 99 hours, the social networks have dealt with the commander of the 7th Division, Brigadier General Barak Hiram. The reason: an order he gave to fire on a house in Bari on October <>, even though there were hostages inside.
Hiram arrived in the envelope area on Black Saturday and assumed responsibility for several communities, chief among them Bari, where fierce fighting took place. He gathered under him various forces that fought to locate and release hostages and attack terrorists. In one case, in which terrorists barricaded themselves with 14 hostages in Psi Cohen's home on the kibbutz, lengthy negotiations for their release took place, accompanied by exchanges of fire.
Kingfisher forces in Kibbutz Be'eri and rescue of kibbutz residents (Archive) // IDF Spokesperson
After the terrorists fired an RPG bomb at the forces, Hiram ordered the negotiations to stop. According to an investigation published in The New York Times, he told a tank commander to "break in, even at the cost of casualties." At the end of the incident, the terrorists were eliminated, and only two of the hostages survived.
Some tweeters on social media were quick to attack Hiram. His affiliation with religious Zionism was not missed, and it was claimed that he represented in the IDF the messianic-fascist line that prefers killing to the sanctity of life. The backlash was not forthcoming, and many – including politicians – were on Hiram's side who rushed to attack the critics.
Wartime politics
Both are part of a trend that has intensified in recent weeks of over-preoccupation with wartime politics. Hiram is only the means, just as it was two weeks ago the soldier who shot dead the three abductees in Sejaiya, or as the pilots (and others) who opposed the legal legislation were until a few months ago. Tweeters and critics on both sides care less about the facts: they're busy justifying their argument with force, and if it doesn't, then more force.
Hiram is an outstanding officer. This is indisputable. His service card is full to burst, and always in combat roles. Even now, he is in Gaza, fighting intensively, but that's less important. What is important is that on Black Saturday he had to make difficult decisions in impossible terrain, some of which may have cost lives.
Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Photo: Jonathan Zindel/Flash90
Hiram is not to blame for the terrible abandonment, the intelligence failure, the negligent defense and the failed conception. He came to help, to save, risking his life – just as an IDF commander is expected to do. So did many other commanders and fighters, some of whom were also killed on that cursed day. None of them sacrificed civilians with pleasure; The sights and sounds of what happened during those difficult hours will carry with them forever.
Most of those who relate to the affair today, from here on out, sat at home at the time and watched the broadcasts in horror, while Hiram and his friends fought for the life of the kibbutzim, and indeed for the lives of all of us. They may have made mistakes, and even likely have. This is the price of war, especially when the war begins under such inferior conditions. That's exactly what debriefings are for: to understand what happened, to learn and learn lessons.
Sector affiliation is irrelevant
The link made to Hiram's reference group is no less brazen. Over 40 per cent of the fighters killed in the war in Gaza belong to Religious Zionism. Even those whose political views are contrary should, at the very least, know how to cherish their devotion for the people and the country. Just as generations of fighters have done before them, from the War of Independence until today, whose sectoral affiliation was different and even then clearly irrelevant.
Hiram needs no one's protection. Especially not of the political sector to which he belongs, because this "paints" him in inappropriate and unfair colors. The politicians who came to his defense – those who are mainly looking to make a turn or a Torah headline – should be reminded that only a moment ago they denounced the usurping kibbutzim, which later paid the highest price for the failure, and then the pilots and special units, who have also been on the front lines of the fighting since October 7.
The IDF has been engaged for 78 days in a war that includes extremely difficult and complicated fighting that Israel has probably never known. This kind of fighting, which takes place on the ground with civilians, is inherently fraught with mistakes and difficult decisions, some of which cost lives – on both sides. Anyone who knows how to conduct this war with 100 percent success and 0 percent malfunction is a one-time genius, the kind that exists only in politics and social networks. All other mortals should understand that complicated or problematic events have been, and unfortunately will be. As long as it is not gross negligence, such incidents must not decide the fate of soldiers and their officials beyond what they are already required to go through.
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