There was more grist for the mill in the Ya’alon interview. Doron Rosenbloom, who often writes satirical pieces for Ha’aretz, has a biting commentary on the rest of Ya’alon’s bon mot. Yoel Marcus essentially advices Ya’alon to keep his mouth shut.
Just to share with you some pearls from this man who describes himself as “”a humanist, a liberal, a democrat and a seeker of peace and security.”
First, his firm belief in freedom of the press:
“Attacking a chief of staff is grist for the media’s mill,” he says, “and Israel will pay a price for it. The Palestinians will exploit it for their purposes, to claim that the army has a policy of its own.”
“I think the problem of the conception is far more severe today. There is a deep psychological problem here: Because it is difficult for people to apprehend a reality that they do not control, it is more convenient to blame the Israeli side. Or the army. Or the chief of staff. Or whoever is reporting to them that the reality is not exactly the way they would like it to be. In addition, there are people for whom the conception has become their whole world, so they entrench themselves in it and refuse to let it go.
“I have to say that I am concerned about the part played by the media in creating this conception. Before the Yom Kippur War, the media were less investigative and more engaged. Today, the media seem to be investigative, open and safeguarding democracy, yet they are nevertheless part of the conception. Even though they are seemingly not engaged, the media had a major part in building the conception. They led the process.”
“Of course there is a pathology. You have to understand that we are in a combined campaign – military, political, civilian, media, economic. In order to build a defensive wall, all those elements have to work in synergy. You have to understand that if you build a military wall but there is no political wall, then there is no wall. If you build a wall of the Shin Bet [security service] but there is no publicity wall, then there is no wall. And it is absolutely clear that there is no wall if Israelis come along and break it or undermine it.”
“You stand and try to contain [the other side], but they are shooting at you from all directions, and people from your side come and undermine you. Absolutely undermine you. That is frustrating. Very frustrating. Sometimes it drives me crazy.”
Second, his clear understanding of the role of the Chief of Staff in a democratic society:
“More substantively, Ya’alon feels that it is his duty to express his professional opinion and to describe precisely the way the Arabs perceive various moves made by Israel. He does not think he trespassed on the political arena; he has never come out against the government of Israel and he has never publicly [emphasis mine] criticized the political echelon.”
And then a few lines later:
Haaretz: “So you are not an admirer of the separation fence?”
Ya’alon:”It’s complex and it’s in the political arena, so I am very careful here. If I were given that money, I would invest it elsewhere.”
Haaretz: “Can we sum up by saying, without getting into the political question, that your professional opinion is that concessions that are made under fire are dangerous? Is it your view that any possible Israeli concession can be made only after the confrontation is decided and the violence ends?”
Ya’alon:”Yes.”
As for his liberal and humanist character, check out the post A cancer in our midst. And this quote:
“But I know that I am facing a cruel reality and that I have to defend myself. In the face of cancer, one has to defend oneself. It worries me that when it comes to the Palestinian question, people here are constantly going back to the argument about the narrative and the diagnosis. Despite everything that has happened, people are still arguing about the diagnosis. And without agreeing on the diagnosis, there is no chance that the prognosis will be correct.”
Tags: Israeli Politics, Propaganda