by Emmanuel Shiloh, editor of B'sheva magazine, translated by Hillel Fendel.
1.
This column will focus mainly on piercing criticism of those who refuse, for
political reasons, to serve in the IDF during wartime and thus sabotage the war
effort.
On the extreme fringes of our left-wing camp, refusal to serve in the IDF has
once again raised its ugly head. Last time it was because of the attempts to institute
some judicial reforms – and this time, too, the refusers are complaining that
the "end of Israeli democracy" is near. Why? Because the government
wishes to fire Shabak chief Ronen Bar as well as the Legal Counsel to the
Government, Gali Bahrav-Miara. Bar functioned miserably on October 7th,
having failed to inform his superiors of indications of the Hamas plans as late
as 4 AM that terrible morning.
But we begin it with praise and prayer for our combat soldiers and their success, and for the new IDF leadership that has brought a fresh spirit to the ranks. We also pray for our government, whose task this time is to be even stronger and firmer than it has been until now, and to fight until victory. There must be no agreement with Hamas, other than one for its total surrender. We must conquer all of Gaza, impose a military government there, dismantle Hamas, and locate and free our captive brothers.
Our beloved soldiers: Rise
up and succeed; smite and defeat the enemy; and may the G-d of Israel come to
your aid.
2.
Bahrav-Miara, too, seeks
to thwart the government's plans at every opportunity. Even Minister Gideon
Saar, who appointed her to the post under the Bennett-Lapid government, now
regrets his choice. "You promised to be a counsel who enables [things to
get done]," he told her. "What happened to that?" The answer is
that she was indeed an enabler – but only for the Bennett-Lapid government. She
found no legal grounds to prevent it from giving away sovereign off-shore territory
without a popular referendum, as required by law; she found no problem when the
transitional government appointed a Chief of Staff just days before national
elections, nor when it sought to appoint the chairman of the committee that
vets senior appointments at the same time (the Supreme Court later disqualified
this move). She was also very enabling of the anti-reform protestors, claiming
that "a protest cannot be effective if it does not disturb the public
order." As if there is some legal principle that obligates the state, and
the poor drivers stuck for hours in protest-blocked traffic, to make sure that
a protest is "effective."
On the other hand,
regarding the Netanyahu government, she manages to find "legal
impediments" to its policies wherever she looks. She did not allow Netanyahu
to appoint Deri as a minister, nor to appoint Ben-Gvir for a second time
(though he has been appointed despite her objections), nor to appoint a
temporary (!) chairperson of the Second Channel Authority. And of course, she
is blocking the government from firing the head of the Shabak – despite the law
that permits exactly that. In no fewer than 25 cases, she has refused to
represent the government position. Nevertheless, in spite of all this, the wild
protests continue in Tel Aviv, and some of the more zealous leaders even
announced their refusal to serve in the IDF.
Another excuse that
apparently justifies their "conscientious objections" is the
government's stance on the painful, complex issue of the hostages. Netanyahu
wants very much to see them home, and in fact succeeded in getting Hamas to
agree to release 30 of them, plus another eight corpses. For this we paid a
terrible price of the freeing of hundreds of dangerous terrorist murderers,
"humanitarian" aid to Hamas that fills its coffers and strengthens
its regime, and even three months of ceasefire, enabling it to rearm, regroup,
and replant explosives and booby traps. We can only hope and pray that by some
miracle, our soldiers won't pay for all this with their lives.
Netanyahu is also
willing to continue along these lines – but one thing he is not willing to do,
and that is to agree to end the war while Hamas is still armed and in power.
The government of Israel is willing to go a long way to receive the hostages –
but will not agree to commit suicide.
Parts of the left-wing
camp not only do not accept this position, but accuse Netanyahu of actively
preferring his own interests over those of the hostages and the country. Some
of them then go even further and refuse to serve in the army – in wartime, yet!
This time, though, as
opposed to the refusals during the anti-reform protests, when reactions were
fairly apathetic, the public is not having it. Even the IDF has learned its
lesson, and new Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has already permanently
removed from service two soldiers, including a combat navigator, who said they
would not serve.
This response is the correct
one: "You don't want to fight alongside your comrades for the protection
of your country and for the release of the hostages? Everyone else should fight
except for you? Fine, don't do us any favors. The courageous, patriotic
soldiers who understand the importance of this holy mission will do the job
without you, and you, when you wake up to what you have done, will have to live
forever with the disgrace of having run away from the battlefield."
Another grave aspect of
these refusals is that they seem to be decided upon with barely any
deliberation. After all, it is now clear that regarding the judicial reform,
the Supreme Court did the job in at least once instance by nullifying one of
the relevant laws [the one that would have greatly restricted the use of
"not reasonable" as a reason to nullify a Knesset law]. So what was
the purpose in refusing to fight for your country?
Even more grating are
the current protests against the government's firing of Shabak chief Ronen Bar
– at the same time that the matter has been taken to the Supreme Court! Make up
your minds: If the Court accepts your position, your refusals will have been
totally unnecessary. And if the Court allows the firing, then you will of
course have to accept it. So where do you get off trying once again to shake up
and divide the IDF, this time in the middle of a war, after seeing the terrible
price we paid last time? Does the goal of toppling Netanyahu dwarf every other
consideration??
And so, this is the
moment of truth for the sensible and responsible left: You must totally renounce
and condemn the refusers, and give full backing to the IDF in its iron fist
against them. This is the minimum that anyone who considers himself a true
Israeli patriot must do.