The Refusers Must be Totally Renounced – Especially by the Left!

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 7^th, 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.

The Trump Spirit Upon Netanyahu

by Dr. Tzvi Moses, clinical psychologist, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Let Netanyahu work – and at the same time, let's tone down the internal dispute, rise up together, and let the special history of the Jewish Nation a chance to speak its part.

On the backdrop of Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza, the questions have again arisen as to what Netanyahu's ultimate strategy really is. The commentators offer up all sorts of ideas and scenarios, while his many detractors always like to link anything he does or doesn't do to a need of his to strengthen his coalition and survive politically as Prime Minister.

It could be, however, that this time, they are simply wrong. Netanyahu is taking inspiration and strength from Donald Trump, and he is actually very involved in what is best for the State of Israel. In fact, his achievements thus far seemed just a year ago to be nothing more than dream-like.

It is a given that with Trump in office, we stand before a seemingly one-time historic opportunity to fortify the State of Israel as a country that can stand alone on its own two feet in defending itself and its citizens.

Despite Israel's current strong dependency upon the United States, our goal is to accumulate sufficient strength so that we will be able to withstand a change of administrations in the U.S. and a new international balance of power among the superpowers.

Our recent hostage exchange deal with Hamas - in which we released some 1,700 prisoners, including 620 bona-fide terrorists and murderers - has left Israel in a very vulnerable position. The dangerous weakness that we have revealed leaves us open to unacceptable and impossible Hamas demands in exchange for all the remaining hostages, in a manner that endangers the existence of the State of Israel. Hamas is basically demanding a total end to the war, with American and United Nations guarantees that will stop Israel from completing the job of liquidating Hamas.

This is the real meaning of the proclamations made by the "Free the hostages at any price!" campaign and the protestors in Tel Aviv. A surrender of this sort would form, almost immediately, a regional chain reaction among all of our enemies. They would learn clearly that they no longer need nuclear weapons to destroy us. All they have to do is assemble a bunch of kidnapping cells in order to dismantle Israeli society from within and thus destroy our country.

The populistic chants of "First the hostages, then smash Hamas" have no validity or truth. If we try this approach, we will stand weakened and helpless against our enemies. We are all well aware that the plight of the hostages' families, and of course the hostages themselves, is indescribably horrific, and it is incumbent upon us all to add prayers that the relevant authorities break their heads to think out of the box and figure out how to free them. But the deal currently on the table is a terrible one, and we may not allow ourselves to agree to it as now formulated.

On the other hand, Israel is currently operating relatively intensively against Hamas, and is practicing a much more active and aggressive security policy in Lebanon, Syria, to be followed by the same against the Houthis and Iran. Trump's backing in the meantime is amazing, surpassing anything our great strategic commentators ever envisioned.

These anti-Netanyahu journalists are occasionally bewildered by his success, though they steadfastly refuse to eat their hats and admit their mistakes. They certainly would never actually praise him for what has been his cautious and correct managing of everything that is going on. They rather keep finding additional claims to file against Netanyahu and his nationalist government. Yes, they do have one justified point, which is that while most of those responsible for the colossal catastrophe of Oct. 7^th have either quit or been fired, only Netanyahu himself – where the buck of responsibility is supposed to stop – remains deeply entrenched in his political seat. But in the end – so what?

Though they and many others on the left claim that justice is the epitome of what is fair and good, they refuse to acknowledge that most of the charges against Netanyahu are fabricated for political reasons. The trial against him will go down in infamy for the State Prosecution and the left-wing camp. Apparently, for them, justice is relative. In any event, Mr. Netanyahu is currently the Prime Minister, and he happens to be running several particularly successful moves and processes. Israel's political and military situation is in a very different place than it was, and even our still-limping economy is showing positive signs of recovery.

At this point in time, Netanyahu is the most suitable man in the country to lead us for at least the first two years of Trump's term in office. After that there will be elections for the U.S. Congress, and then here as well, and the voters will choose whom they wish.

The Trump spirit that has inspired and enveloped Netanyahu has granted him a great measure of self-confidence – sometimes a bit too much – in his drive to actualize the right-wing dream of cleaning out the leftist stables. Not only in the U.S., but here in Israel too, over-leftistism has taken up occupancy, sometimes openly and sometimes undercover, in all areas: security, academia, and especially in the judiciary. To balance this out is in no way a revolution or insurgency, as the protestors like to scream. It is rather a necessary approach to balance out the leftism that has accompanied the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel since even before the establishment of the State.

In any event, what is required of both sides now is to enlist our strengths to tone down the internal dispute, rise above the situation together, and allow the special history of the Jewish Nation a chance to speak its part. Let us remind ourselves that the great Jewish spirit pulsates within Israel from Dan to Eilat.