The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir, responded to the political attacks that targeted him due to his warning message regarding the law aimed at freezing the arrest of Haredim who have failed to draft, stressing that his position came in defense of the reserve soldiers who were called back to serve for 100 days, and not as an engagement in the political battle.
According to a report by journalist Han Artsi Sorour, in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the term “raising the red flag” has become widely used since the October 7 attack, but the sharp message directed by Zamir against the law exempting conscription evaders from arrest brought this term back to the forefront.
During a number of closed-door conversations, Zamir responded in a firm tone to those who described his message as a political move, saying: “This week I called up the 55th Brigade for 100 days of reserve duty, and I also called up the 4th Brigade. These reservists will not see their homes throughout the months of July and August, again. That’s why I wrote this letter. I am addressing them, not addressing anyone else. “I am their chief of staff.”
Zamir’s statements came after he sent an exceptional letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and the Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Representative Boaz Bismuth, warning them of devastating repercussions for the army, including harming those performing military service and deepening inequality.
Following the message, a number of representatives of the ruling coalition quickly appeared in front of the cameras and strongly attacked Zamir, while some of them accused him of politicizing his position, working behind the government, and going against the people.
Shas party leader Aryeh Deri attacked the chief of staff, saying: “He has lost his mind. During the election period, he tried to help the Left camp, that’s for sure. “He has caused great harm to the army.”
Deri added, at the height of sarcasm: “I defend him a lot,” in an expression that the report described as a successful choice of words.
As for Representative Tali Gotliff, she used sharper language, and wrote: “Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, I advise you to know your limits!! You dared to enter the political arena, and thus weakened the morale of our soldiers and the citizens of Israel, as if you were one of the members of the Knesset in the opposition. If it were up to me, I would remove you from your position without hesitation, and the sooner the better.”
In the closed conversations in which Zamir addressed accusations that his message was politically motivated, he talked about a meeting he had with the wife of a commander in Brigade 4, during an event dedicated to the husbands and wives of permanent army personnel.
Zamir said: “She spoke to me with tears in her eyes about the price families have been paying for 3 years. I am the chief of staff of these fighters, whether on regular or reserve duty. In addition to the task of defending the state that I have to carry out, they are the only thing that motivates me to take action.”
According to the report, the clause that constituted the “straw that broke the back” of the Chief of Staff, among all the laws passed in the Knesset for the benefit of conscription evaders, was clause 26 in the legislation that grants exemptions from arrest.
The clause stipulates that the Chief of Staff is obligated to form a committee that will determine who deserves to be recognized as a “Son of the Torah” and who does not, which means that Israeli army commanders will be required to determine which detainee will receive a release card from prison, and which detainee will remain behind bars.
This clause raises a question about the criteria that can be used to determine who is a “son of Torah,” which is another sensitive issue that lawmakers threw into the court of the Israeli army, as if the military institution does not face enough tasks and pressures.
The report quoted senior officials as saying: “This is what angered Zamir more than anything else.” The Israeli army cannot be the body that decides who will be recognized as Ben Torah and who will not.”
In parallel, 3 laws urgently needed by the Israeli army were not passed, as the service extension law passed in a limited form, while the reserve law and the immediate conscription law were not put to a vote.
According to the report, the Israeli army was pushed into a corner from which there was no way out, and was assigned a mission that was impossible to implement, at a time when the Supreme Court froze the law, as was expected, but the campaign of attacks and criticism against the Chief of Staff did not stop.
While the coalition is waging a battle to protect conscription evaders from arrest, Zamir puts at the forefront soldiers who have been called for an additional 100 days of service, in a confrontation that reveals the widening gap between political decisions and the price paid by army units and Israeli families.
