Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has one of the most coveted portfolios in the government, but lately he seems to be vying for a different role – that which involves the upholding of the country’s morals.
This is pretty funny, considering that the Jewish state is under constant attack from regional enemies armed to the teeth and filled with hate, in addition to more geographically distant foes fighting a battle of delegitimization. But it is not the least bit amusing that he chose Memorial Day for fallen IDF soldiers and victims of Arab terrorism – at the gravesite of dead Jewish soldiers and civilians, no less — to reiterate his concern about the ethical character of the Israeli populace.
It was a peculiar eulogy, to say the least, particularly coming from the person in charge of the military.
“Over the past several months, Israel has been confronted with a wave of Palestinian terrorism, which indeed has been on a down-slide of late, but is liable to erupt anew,” Ya’alon said to a massive crowd of mourners at the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv. “Even during the difficult moments, in which our blood boils and our rage is high, woe to us if we lose our way and our values, the compromising of which would likely bring Israel to the abyss.”
Lose our way? Compromise our values? Was he joking?
Sadly – and inexplicably — the answer is no, though Ya’alon of all people should know that it is not our “way” or “values” that have been “lost” or “compromised,” but rather our lives. And if anything brings Israel to the brink of the abyss, it will be an Iranian nuclear bomb.
“Exercise force when necessary, but also understand its limits and its ability to lead to a dulling of the senses,” he continued. “Ensure the purity of arms and retain humanity, and let us not lose our heads.”
It seems that Ya’alon is the only one who has lost his head these days, and his mind along with it.
This was the third time in so many months that he made a point of warning Israel against moral turpitude.
The first was when he promptly denounced Elor Azariya – the IDF soldier under indictment for killing a subdued Palestinian terrorist in Hebron – and members of the public who protested on his behalf. “We’re not ISIS,” Ya’alon said, “When there’s a need to kill, we kill. But when it’s someone neutralized or with his hands up, that is the place for preserving our moral compass.”
The second was on Holocaust Remembrance Day, when Ya’alon immediately and unequivocally backed IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan, who suggested that Israel is coming dangerously close to resembling 1930s Germany and called for an annual day of soul-searching, like some kind of secular version of Yom Kippur.
“I have full faith in Golan, a fighter and outstanding commander, high-caliber and praiseworthy,” he said. “The responsibilities of an army officer, especially a senior commander, are not limited to leading soldiers out to war, but also include charting out a path and ethical standards with the help of [his] moral compass.”
The last time I checked, it was the job of the minister of defense to protect Israel’s citizenry from its mortal enemies, by developing and carrying out military strategies to defeat them. It is a mighty challenge on today’s battlefield in the Middle East, to be sure, because the warfare involves multiple fronts and various filthy methods of engagement. These include, but are not restricted to, the use of children, both as human shields and as machete-wielding perpetrators of bloody murder.
The jury is still out on whether Ya’alon is up to the gargantuan task he was appointed to combat, literally and figuratively. Nor is it clear whether anyone in his position would handle the current situation any better. But two things are certain. One is that Ya’alon has no business anointing himself supreme judge of Jewish-state ethics. The other is that Israel’s moral compass is in no need of adjustment.
Ruthie Blum is the managing editor of The Algemeiner.
The Malady of Jewish ‘Inner-Nazi’ Phobia
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Golan the Golem said otherwise
After watching Yaalon criminally obstruct justice, stalk and incarcerate jews without evidence or even an investigation, I’ll believe Zakai’s version of the Days of Penitence operation over Yaalon any time.
here is the go to guy for parents who lost their IDF soldier children in the wars….. their commander murdered them when he told then to risk their lives and their parents hearts to save the lives of those who teach their children that Jews are sons of apes and pigs. I would oppose with my dying breath my children joining an army commanded by such a lunatic traitor. Instead of being promoted to the top where he daily is responsible for the murder of soldiers he should have been ridiculed and shamed. Apparently Israeli Jews do not value the lives of their children as much as the lives of the terrorist spawn, with such values as advised by the lunatics one should not whine when their children are slaughtered by terrorists and their spawn.
just one more of those fake dog and pony shows, punch and judy shows, abbas and bb custom tax shows….. BB has learned from Duma to stay in the background until his lighting rod appointee tests the public waters… when the public gives too much flack Bb becomes their hero arguing with his appointee who carries out his agenda.
the enemies and defamers feeling the pinch, in bed with the terrorists and now they must suffer,. everywhere we see the defamers, delegitimizers,libelers… suffering for good reason.
HMMMMMM???? Covenant at work??? Blessings and Curses
Kirschner got in bed with the terrorists
Roussef rejected Dayan and Zionism????
Perhaps BB should have taken my advice when I said to wait on appointing a new ambassador as her gov will soon fall
LOL, not interested in Israels moral compass, just its will to liquidate its enemies before Jews are killed. Yaalon appears to be uninterested in his job description… he is joining the fake Polish rabbi’s guild:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/reporter-who-exposed-fake-polish-rabbi-says-hes-getting-heat-from-jewish-leader/
but if you are intentionally not doing that job you need distractions, red herrings to cover up your negligence and incompetence… of course no one would expect intelligent people to be blinded by such a pathetically transparent cover up as his new found moral persuasions… next he will say that G_D told him to do it.
only the chronically naive would appoint richard nixon to head the dept of justice after seeing watergate… which is equivalent to this statement. It is absurd to consider a man who is likely guilty of serious criminal behavior to be up to continuing or to be up to the task. This author misses the seriousness of Yaalons behaviors and the fact that they are likely to be proven criminal if a jury is ever convened.
a situation avoided is not a situation handled… I see no “handling”. If the “situation was being handled” there would be no need for all these criminally fabricated red herrings to distract.
Perhaps Olmert, Katsav and Sharon should be invited to give the next sermon.
He knows exactly what he is doing.
no loss of mind, an intentional MO fabricated to justify and to cover up criminal behavior.
Not at all, the first was at Duma when he BB, Erdan and Rivlin jumped up with their well rehearsed and intentionally timed chorus to declare, in unison, that jews murdered a baby which they likely already knew was murdered in an arab vendetta of the past 18 years. They did it because nationalists were getting out of hand at the Mount and they needed to pass a law to incarcerate dissenters without evidence or trial. Duma allowed them to move ahead and pass the law. This was the first frame up with a purpose to violate the justice system and operate with criminal impunity. After that BB learned it is best to remain in the background, to be flexible to appear to change course by allowing yaalon and others to be his trial balloon, lightning rod and fig leaf.
The pose of morality and ethics is merely a cover, a fig leaf to obfuscate his criminal behavior: his abuse of authority and power, his obstruction of justice, his interference with the justice system. It is absurd to pretend that his transparent criminal behavior which should result in a jail term can be explained by his fake morality… one is a crime and the other an opinion. But then he an Netanyahu know that the Israeli public is asleep, fatigued and will buy any spurious and ludicrous assertion when coming from the top.
Yes, he has full faith in his cowed subordinates to carry out his criminal orders… golans speech was an echo of Yaalon and IMO Yaalon told him to give it. Yaalon also had full faith that his military subordinates would discern and carry out his commands to find the soldier guilty even BEFORE an investigation began… this showed his increasing arrogance as he waited for a fake, negligent and incompetent investigation first at DUMA… he was emboldened and drunk on his success there. When the investigators heard their commanders declarations of the soldiers guilt of course they took it as their opportunity to please their master… the military prosecutors under Yaalon did the same… so why wouldnt the military judges do the same?
Would anyone be able to go to court and tell a judge that he committed a crime due to moral reasons, i think not. This shows that the same courageous Israelis who die in battle under the disloyal commander are blind cowards at confronting his obvious crimes. The moral arguments are just plain BS and not even worthy of discussion. Israelis who accept Yaalons fake moral pretensions as an explanation for his criminal behavior are idiots. They should be calling for criminal charges to be lodged against Yaalon.