by Chaim Misgav, Ph.D. in Law, translated by Hillel Fendel.
At present, most unfortunately, Israel's combat situation appears to be not good, to put it mildly. In the north, the IDF is having little success dealing with Hizbullah's unmanned flying contraptions. And in the south, it is becoming continually clearer that the Oct. 7th massacre was not the result only of local failures and mishaps, but mainly of a much larger picture of misreading the situation.
For years, the security establishment fed us fake-forecasts. Chief of Staff after Chief of Staff jumped into our political lives, pretending to be what they never truly were. Their arrogance was boundless. The humongous budgets that the army and defense establishment received were distributed far from the public's eye. [It is precisely this issue that Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich is attempting to address, to the consternation of the current security establishment; see for instance https://www.
We now hear that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Hertzy Levi is whining that the IDF is missing 15 battalions [of hundreds of soldiers each]. It reminds me that not long ago, we were being told that the IDF could easily deal with two fronts, or even more, at once. We must never forget these boastful claims.
It's not elections that we need now. The would simply widen the sinkhole that has opened up at our feet, and would surely not extricate us from the mud around it of the multiple lies we have been served. Nor will the enlistment of a few thousand hareidim solve our nearly chronic ailments.
I can't quite put my finger on the exact point at which we became serfs of these "super heroes" crowned with military decorations - but once it happened, we never knew how to stop the process, and so, we are eating its moldy fruits now.
I still remember my astonishment when I realized that there were elements in the IDF expressing most actively their disapproval that a particular candidate had been elected Prime Minister. Their threat to refuse to serve spread like wildfire, with PR consultants leading their campaigns and protests. It is my impression that the Air Force was too busy trying to fight the judicial reform against Justice Minister Yariv Levine and Knesset Judiciary Committee Chairman Simcha Rotman, leaving no time to prepare for the new threats posed by Hizbullah drones. It was the "reasonability clause" of the judicial reform program [seeking to outlaw the claim of "not reasonable" as justification for nullifying a duly-passed Knesset law] that concerned them more than Hizbullah's future lethal use of aircraft that the Israel Air Force currently is not effectively dealing with.
I listened to Benny Ganz's speech of resignation from the unity government last week. He sought to explain why it was a smart move at this point in time for him to leave, thus weakening Israel's government and its united front. I couldn't help but remember how he said, when he was the IDF's Chief of Staff, that what was needed was a "small and efficient IDF, well-equipped, quick, flexible and organized." No one is saying that anymore…
Of course, the full responsibility for what is happening now cannot be placed on Ganz alone - but he should be seen as a reliable representative of those who led us with such blindness. The tunnels in Gaza flourished while he served as Chief of Staff, and Hizbullah grew to monstrous proportions during his tenure as Minister of Defense.
Most unfortunately, not he, nor others in the positions he occupied during these past years, have expressed a word of apology or of responsibility for what they allowed to happen under their noses during their terms. ●
Translator's Note: The domestic/political arena in Israel is currently, understandably, in great disarray. Opinions from one end of the spectrum to the other, and sometime on both sides at once, are offered on every platform. This article represents one particular viewpoint; for balance, let us include here a sampling of the talkbacks that it rec'd:
"Spot on!"
"Total nonsense!"
"Why no mention of Netanyahu and his faulty leadership and how he supported Hamas with cash?"
"It's America's fault for not allowing us to win."
"Those who brought us the Oslo Accords must be brought to trial."
"We need new elections right now!"
"Why are we not fighting the war in Gaza like we really mean it?"