“Let the IDF Win” is a slogan that was invented during the second intifada and reappears with almost every Israeli military confrontation in the region. It was born out of frustration, mainly by the right-wing public in Israel. The feeling was that Israel Defense Forces could succeed to fight effectively against the Palestinians, destroy the terror infrastructure and eliminate the suicide-terror phenomenon that caused so many victims — if not for the political echelon that restrained it.

IDF commanders argued that the slogan adversely affected military morale and belittled their abilities as commanders. Yom Tov Samia, head of the Southern Command during the second intifada, argued at the time (December 2000) in an interview with Israeli TV Channel One, “It’s stupid to say such a thing. I am the commander of the IDF forces in the Gaza Strip and head of the Southern Command and I tell the entire Israeli people the following: I adopt all the steps and actions that I deem necessary.”

This slogan appeared again in the Protective Edge operation due to disappointment that the IDF did not eliminate terror in Gaza, once and for all, and did not return absolute security to the residents of the south. But this time, the slogan was not wielded only by right-wing activists, but by members of almost all echelons of Israeli society who had hoped for a solution after 14 years of rocket fire from the Strip.

A public-opinion poll conducted by Israeli TV Channel 10 this week, Aug. 11, showed that almost 80% of the Israeli public feels that the military and diplomatic echelons were not successful in strengthening the security of the residents of the south. Some 37% even believe that the security situation has worsened.