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The Bogyman by Uri Avnery
When
Halutz was asked at the time what he feels after dropping a bomb, he
replied: "A slight bump to the wing." He added that afterwards
he sleeps well. I don’t think that a person who expresses himself like
that should be the supreme commander of our army. That
does not mean that his predecessor was much better. But there is a rule:
"Every bad officeholder can be replaced by a worse one." (That
reminds one of the Jewish joke about the mean, rich man in the ghetto.
When he passed away, nobody could be found to say something good about
him, as required by custom. In the end, someone volunteered: "We
all know that he was an evil old man, a thief and a miser, but compared
to his son he was an angel!") Even
before he took off his uniform, the dismissed Chief-of-Staff, Moshe
("Bogy") Yaalon, shot off a salvo of declarations that
disclose both his character and his views. In an interview with the
right-wing Haaretz journalist, Ari Shavit, he said: (1)
"If we don't give the Palestinians more and more and more, there
will be a violent explosion. There is a high probability of a second
terrorist war . . . Kfar Sava (on the Israeli side of the Green line)
will be treated like Sderot. Tel-Aviv and (2)
"What will happen after the disengagement? . . . Terrorist
attacks of all kinds, shooting, bombs, suicide bombers, mortars, Qassam
rockets . . . You left (3)
"The paradigm of the Two States will not bring about
stability. No! . . . (The Two-State solution) is not relevant. Not
relevant . . . (The Palestinian state) will undermine the State of
Israel. From there, the confrontation will go on." (4)
"The State of Israel is ready to give the Palestinians an
independent Palestinian state, but the Palestinians are not ready to
give us an independent Jewish state . . . Every agreement you make will
be the starting point of the next irredenta. The next conflict. The next
war." (5)
"The establishment of a
Palestinian state will lead at some stage to war. Such a war can be
dangerous to the State of Israel. The idea that it is possible to set up
a Palestinian state by 2008 and to achieve stability is disconnected
from reality and dangerous . . . Bush's vision is disconnected from
reality." (6)
"(So what is the solution?) A much longer process, that will
first of all necessitate a revolution of values on the Palestinian side
. . . I do not see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in my
generation." (7)
"Abu Mazen has not given up the Right of Return . . . to come back
to the homes, to come back to the villages . . . This would mean that
there will be no Jewish state . . . Even Abu Mazen is not ready to
accept a Jewish State here." (8)
"(On Palestinian democracy) This is democracy? This is
gangs!" (9)
"There is a possibility that the Israeli army will be
compelled (after the disengagement) to return to the Gaza Strip." The
general outlook: "We are a society at war. Our sword must remain
unsheathed. Every day it must remain unsheathed . . . A society at war.
Without illusions. Without the false belief that we shall solve this,
one way or another. No, it will not be solved." What
does that remind one of? This is an almost exact copy of the famous
speech made by Moshe Dayan in May 1955 at the grave of Roi Rotenberg. Moshe
Yaalon was a toddler at that time. Like the Bourbon monarchy in One
can view this discourse with cynicism. Yaalon is full of resentment
against Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz, the two people who pushed him out
of office after only three years, instead of giving him the customary
fourth year. Since
the withdrawal from But
why stop there? One could cynically assert that Yaalon is expressing the
views of the army High Command, and the army has no interest in peace.
No human organization seeks a situation that will make it superfluous.
On the contrary, it yearns for circumstances where it will be needed
even more. Therefore, the higher officers' corps is not really
interested in a peaceful solution. This
is confirmed by the fact that after the publication of these remarks, on
the day Yaalon left office, he was treated to a huge outpouring of
support and affection from his colleagues. Nobody contradicted him, not
even anonymously. However,
the cynical approach does not lead to a deeper understanding. This
phenomenon goes beyond conscious personal interests. The
army educates for war and thinks only in terms of war. A real general
cannot even imagine himself in a state of peace. For many years no
important Israeli general (with the honorable exceptions of Amram Mitzna
and Ami Ayalon) has made a declaration from which it could be adduced
that he really believes in peace. That
is serious for two reasons: First,
because Yaalon represents an elite group that has a huge influence on
Israeli society. Through the hundreds of retired generals, the
"generals' party" controls almost all the key political and
economic positions in the country, from the government, the cabinet and
the political parties to most of the big public and private
corporations. Secondly,
because the Chief-of-Staff, the chief of the Mossad and the Chief of the
Security Service attend cabinet meetings, and their political
evaluations practically dictate the steps of the government. The views
of the C-o-S are not a private matter--they have a huge impact on the
behavior of the entire state. For
three years, Yaalon was the chief of the Israeli army. During this
period, the When
the Chief-of-Staff believes that peace is impossible, now and in the
future, naturally all his advice to the cabinet--advice with the force
of directives--is influenced by this belief. Yaalon's
assertions lead to the conclusion that there is not--and cannot be--a
Palestinian partner. In this respect there is total agreement between
General Yaalon, General Ehud Barak and General Sharon. Abu Mazen, who is
plotting to lead four million Palestinian refugees back to their former
homes and villages, certainly is no partner. The conclusion: The
disengagement must be unilateral, as decided by Peace?
Don't make Bogy laugh. Or Ehud. Or Arik, either. For
several weeks now Yaalon has been busy with a farewell tour he has
organized for himself. He has gone from command-post to command-post,
from camp to camp, and everywhere had himself photographed from every
angle, always with the helmet on his head, the boots on his feet and the
gun at his shoulder. Rather pathetic. His
subordinates and colleagues accorded him the adulation due to one of the
great Captains of History, the man who "vanquished terrorism." Truth
is, of course, that Yaalon was a very small captain. At best, the
Israeli army finished the "war" with a draw. It did not find
an answer to the mortar shells and the Qassam rockets, it was compelled
to accept an unofficial cease-fire it did not want. In a confrontation
between a mighty army and small underground organizations, a draw is a
big failure for the C-o-S. All in all, he failed like all his
predecessors, as his successor will also fail. As all generals around
the world have failed in similar situations. As
his last remarks have shown, Yaalon is a rather limited person, with an
average intellect and quite primitive views. In his declarations one can
find all the stereotypes and all the myths of 120 years of Zionism.
There is not a gram of independent thought. And
that may well be the most depressing aspect of the affair. While
in office, the leaders of our army are shielded from all critical
appraisal. They are surrounded by a protective shield of spittle-licking
"military correspondents" and spokespersons duty-bound to lie.
They always appear omniscient, in possession of a superb analytical
mind, devoted with head and heart to the security and the future of the
state, having no other interest. When
they take off their uniforms and lose the military aura, they reappear
as quite different people. Recast as civilians, the former chiefs of the
army, the Mossad and the Security Service show themselves as very
ordinary people, most of them mediocre, some rather less. Occasionally
there was one of serious caliber, but not a few were plain stupid, and
perhaps disturbed. It is quite frightening to think that such people led
the state and were responsible for matters of life and death. What is even more frightening is that Yaalon does indeed look like an angel compared to his successor.
discuss this column in the forum Uri Avnery is a peace activist.
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