The conception that came back to bite us.

In a single moment, the threats to refuse army service were replaced with a burst of mobilization and volunteerism never before seen in our country. Even the alienation from Jewish identity was suddenly replaced by a burst of connection to that identity which had never been seen before. The trail of private cars left by reservists on the side of the road as they said, “Who cares about the car right now; I have to get to my unit right now”, the unprecedented demand for tzitzit, the ceremonies of accepting the yoke of heaven before going into battle – we’ve never seen such sights on such a scale in the Israeli army.

But we shouldn’t treat the reality that preceded the ringing slap that woke the nation up from the disgraceful defeatism of division and hatred, as a nightmare that has passed. We must understand what has happened to us, not in order, God forbid, to stir up the fire of hatred and division at this time of need, but to try and draw essential lessons for the future.

And so, if you recall, the threats of refusal to serve began to appear among pilots in the Air Force. Not all of them, and maybe not even most of them – but that’s where it began.
And it continued, as we know, in Unit 8200 of the Intelligence Corps.

It was trendy to talk about how these were, in fact, the broad shoulders upon which the security of our country rests: the air force, and the elite technological units that run special operations.

This wasn’t mere lip service. Since the Oslo Accords, the IDF has subjugated itself to the concept that the era of great wars – wars between national armies – had ended and that a new era had begun, a never-ending campaign _between_ wars (which will never happen).

The vision of Oslo was essentially a progressive vision. In his book “The New Middle East”, Shimon Peres actually spoke about the end of national identities and borders losing their meaning.

The initiators of Oslo understood very well that in order to move the people of Israel from an “Iron Wall” mindset to one of the “New Middle East”, the Oslo process required the mobilization, the support, and the legitimization of the security apparatus.
The security ethos was the founding ethos of the state that was established from the ashes of the furnaces. Yad Vashem became a kind of “Temple” for the “never again” state.
Without the combination of men in uniform and senior brass among the negotiators, it is doubtful if they would have been able to get the Israeli public to swallow Oslo.

And so a mindset that set clear boundaries of a distinct national identity and derived from it a security concept of a quick victory in the enemy’s territory was replaced by a progressive mindset that doesn’t recognize national (and other) identities, and therefore derives from it a security concept that doesn’t see territory as important anymore. A security mindset that no longer sees the need to take the war to the enemy’s territory. A mindset that doesn’t seek to win, but to contain.

“There is no longer a war between nations, but rather a war between the people of peace and the enemies of peace,” explained Yitzhak Rabin.
The IDF began to promote to key positions only officers who seemed to have internalized the new mindset. The philosophy that was promoted was that there are no more nations, no more national wars, and that therefore, there is no need for large armor formations to carry out strategic moves in the manner of the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. All of these are a thing of the past. In the Oslo era, all that remains are extremists on both sides(!), religious fanatics and extremists that we can handle without a maneuverable army, but with technology.

Based on this concept, the strategic arms of the land army were gradually depleted and the army’s resources were concentrated in the “containment” arms, in site specific tools, rather than strategic ones.
This is how the Oslo Accords and the mindset they created led the IDF from a strategic and decisive army to a tactical containment army. The IDF turned from an army based on armor formations, infantry, engineering, and artillery, to a kind of armed and technological police – a strikeforce army – based on an air force, intelligence and commando units.

The new “Kaplan refusers” truly believed that they were carrying Israel’s security on their shoulders. After all, they – the Air Force and Unit 8200 – are the answer to the security threat from those fundamentalist elements that threaten Israel… they – the enlightened and progressive Israel – they hold the existence of the state with their fingertips and the religious and Netanyahu supporters on their shoulders.

The clearest example of this fantasy was given by none other than the head of the National Security Agency, Major General Aharon Haliva, who explained, among other things, about a year before the Gazan Holocaust, that the threat of climate change poses a greater danger to Israel than the security threats… no more and no less…

So don’t worry. Hamas is deterred for another 15 years. We, the new and rational Israelis, can contain these religious threats through technology and economic indulgences (bribes) – and let’s free ourselves to deal with the real threats as defined by the progressive mindset.

Not for nothing, the leaders of the new IDF have become the leaders of the progressive mindset in the army – and to a large extent in the country as a whole.

Those arriving at the gates of air force bases are greeted by signs in a progressive Hebrew which no longer distinguishes between masculine and feminine.

In the computer monitors of Unit 8200, LGBT organizations and messages have been officially integrated.

From the New Middle East of Shimon Peres in which national identities have lost their meaning, the IDF has progressed and become within a single generation an army where all identities are seen as “made up”, and so are the ways in which we deal with the dangers arising from them.

And then came the day of the Gazan Holocaust, Simchat Torah of 5784 – and everything turned upside down…

In a military sense, what really fell that day were those leaders. The intelligence that managed to neither see nor warn of such a large-scale operation, and the air force that was supposed to give an initial response within a few minutes, by means of combat helicopters and by means of a massive bombardment of the entire area from which the savages continued to flood into the surrounding settlements.

On the other hand – those who finally arrived, and fiercely defended the State of Israel and the settlements, were citizens and foot soldiers who acted individually.

And those who are now giving the strategic response are the armored forces (atrophied as they are) and the infantry and engineering brigades, the greater part of which is those religious and Netanyahu supporters…

The conception that collapsed on 7.10 was a broad and integrated one. A combined ideological and military conception. A conception that led to a wave of factionalism, refusal to serve, and hatred – a conception that broke the army into pieces and left the citizens of the State of Israel to defend their settlements and their country by themselves.

And they did it, and continue to do it, bravely, united, with a wonderful spirit and dedication that is unmatched.

But remember “where you came from and to where you are going”.

We must remember that the root of the evil that led to both the near civil war and the colossal security disaster was the conception that sought to dismantle identities. The root of the evil was the culture of progress that has pervaded society and the IDF since the Oslo Accords.

The great course correction that we see in the return of identity on the battlefield, must continue in all areas of our lives. In culture, the economy, politics, education, public service, law – and of course, in the security forces.

Only once we return to ourselves will we really know how to get back on our feet, take our revenge, and promise: “never again”.