Israeli officials, diplomats free to speak Netanyahu's mind
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli military officers can express themselves ''in the relevant forums,'' it seems he was really saying that senior officials should not express any opinion that contradicts his own.
“I call on you and your subordinates, once again, to keep speaking your minds,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon demanded of the army’s officers in a speech he delivered at a May 15 reception marking Independence Day. "Be brave, not only on the battlefield, but also at the discussion table,” the minister urged them, speaking in front of the cameras. Ya'alon was not suggesting and not asking. He was demanding. To allay any doubts, Ya'alon added that the men in uniform should speak their minds, saying, "Do so even if your comments are not part of the mainstream, and even if they stand in contrast with the ideas adopted by the senior command, or the government."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, argued that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “is the people's army and needs to be kept away from political divisions." Netanyahu’s response to Ya'alon was clearly directed also at Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, who said in a May 4 speech on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day that he sees "revolting" trends in Israel reminiscent of "the abhorrent processes that took place in Europe, and Germany in particular, some 70, 80 or 90 years ago."
But the prime minister was troubled by the content of Golan’s message, not by the identity of the speaker. If, for example, the deputy chief of staff had said that the settlements — a deeply controversial issue — are essential to the security of the state, he could have expected a pat on the shoulder and improved his chances of being promoted.
Golan condemned certain trends in Israeli society. The senior officer would probably not have been backed by the defense chief if he had criticized government policy in the occupied territories or the opportunity Israel missed in ignoring the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. Top officers and even mid-ranking commanders still fear that even a hint of criticism on their part could shorten their military careers. Only their pillows are privy to their frustration and despair over the politicians’ dangerous sinking in the quagmire of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At most they share their feelings in off-the-record background briefings with trusted journalists.
