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Monday, June 13, 2011

A leftist playing the disloyalty card: Laughable!

I just read with disbelief that the Commander of IDF forces in the West Bank, Brig. General Nitzan Alon has issued a letter to all of the officers under his command instructing them to interview all of their soldiers who come from communities in Judea & Samaria to determine if they have "the potential to harm state security".

Apparently, his justification for instigating this witch hunt is that there were two incidents over the past few years of soldiers who leaked IDF plans to Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria that were slated for demolitions / expulsion. 

Seems to me that that kind of leak should be considered an internal disciplinary matter, not one of 'state security'.  Unless, of course, once considers jews living over the green line to be 'the enemies of the state'.

I have stated in the past, and stand by those statements, that poltiics has no place in the military.  Soldiers have no business expressing their political beliefs or acting on them while in uniform.  Full stop.

However, it is equally incumbent upon the government not to use the military as a police force over its own citizens, or as a political tool which puts soldiers in a position where their patriotic and religious loyalties are deliberately placed on a collision course.

But to issue a letter questioning the loyalty of all soldiers who come from Judea and Samaria - a population that has a disproportionately high representation in elite combat units - is more than just poor judgement.  It is an overtly political act designed to divide the military along political and religious lines!

What of people who have done genuine damage to the state security, such as Ehud Adiv, Yosef Amit, Mordechai Vanunu, Tali Fahima and Anat Kamm?  What of all the left wing draftees from the center of the country?  Are they potential risks to state security due to the political climate of the communities from which they hail? 

In fact, if you want to take that thought to its logical conclusion, if both right and left wing soldiers are likely to disclose information about IDF operations, who are these two groups likely to leak information to?

Even better, let's take a look at all of the Israelis who have been convicted of espionage and other serious security crimes against the state over the past 63 years.  What percentage were from the political left, and what percentage were from the political right?    There's a statistic you won't see published in Ha'aretz!

I have no way of knowing if this Brigadier General was acting on his own accord when he issued this letter, or if he was instructed to do so by our defense minister.  But the end result is deliberately divisive action that calls into question the loyalty of the most loyal, patriotic segment of Israeli society. 

In my humble opinion, this officer must be removed from his position, forcibly retired from active service, and his smear letter be rescinded by his superiors.

Posted by David Bogner on June 13, 2011 | Permalink

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Agreed. While we have always had very pronounced political views, no one in my family when in uniform shared those views. But as you point out, the obverse is also true.

"However, it is equally incumbent upon the government not to use the military as a police force over its own citizens, or as a political tool which puts soldiers in a position where their patriotic and religious loyalties are deliberately placed on a collision course."

This should be in a basic use-of-the-military manual somewhere.

Posted by: rutimizrachi | Jun 13, 2011 10:08:44 AM

Dave, you should be very careful want you blog. the thought police are out there, just look at Yitzhar this morning.

Posted by: dave | Jun 13, 2011 5:27:40 PM

David, why doesn't Israel start buying out the Arabs in the West Bank? If they take the money and leave, then it's win-win, no? Think of the long-term savings on the security budget.

Posted by: aparatchik | Jun 13, 2011 10:07:47 PM

Nitzan Alon's wife, Mor Alon, signed a petition on behalf of "machsom Watch" in 2006.

reported in Israel Academia Monitor

Posted by: Rami | Jun 14, 2011 8:32:19 AM

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