Vivian Bercovici: Gallant dared to disagree. So Netanyahu fired him
As all eyes were trained on the U.S. election, the Israeli PM sacked his defence minister in a move that has shocked the nation
Editor’s Note:
I left the punditry regarding the U.S. election to others and chose to focus today on PM Netanyahu’s firing on Tuesday night of Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant. The shock was intense. And the fallout is shaking an already fraught nation. Reservists are serving upwards of 200 days in the army and still counting. Normally, depending on their role, they serve 30-60 days in one year. The strain on families is unsustainable. And the men and women on the front lines are asking today: Why now? Why in the middle of a long, complex, multi-front war? Gallant is a hardened and trusted warrior. He has restored public trust in the IDF after the horror of October 7, when the army was nowhere to be found. You do not send fighters into battle and expect them to have high morale if they do not have confidence in the chain of command and leader. And they are making clear that they do not. Gallant’s replacement, Yisrael Katz, is a long-time Likud loyalist who is derided as a puppet of Netanyahu. He has no serious military or security experience or credentials. That Netanyahu decided to indulge in the crassest political maneuvering at such a vulnerable time for Israel is not going down well. In a poll taken today close to 70% of Israelis said they disagreed with the firing of Gallant. Below, my op-ed column on the subject in today’s National Post (Canada).
A nuclear bomb was dropped on Israel Tuesday night. Metaphorically speaking. By Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
All eyes were fixed on the U.S. election.
Israel waited for Iran to attack, again. And Netanyahu took the opportunity to fire his Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant.
The long-standing intense mutual loathing between Gallant and Netanyahu was no secret in Israel. But that is not why Gallant was fired.
To read the article in full please click on this link to go to the National Post website:
