Israel's Political Class Flirts With Civilian Control Becoming Political Control

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot (Channel 12 screenshot)

There are moments in the life of a democracy when the greatest danger does not come from an external enemy, but from the temptation of those in power to bend the state's institutions to their own political ambitions. Israel, a nation whose security depends on an independent and professional military, has once again found itself confronting that uncomfortable reality.

The latest controversy erupted after Defense Minister Israel Katz announced during a live television appearance that he was replacing IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, despite lacking the legal authority to make such a decision. Whether one supports or opposes the current government, the episode raises a far more consequential question than the fate of a single general. It asks whether political theater is beginning to eclipse the rule of law in matters of national defense.

Opposition leader and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot wasted little time condemning the move.


"The spectacle that took place on [Channel 14] was an unprecedented lowpoint in relations between the political and military echelons, an improper and unlawful act," Eisenkot wrote on X. "The State of Israel is no one's private property, and the IDF is not a tool to be used in primaries by politicians who've lost their way."

His criticism lands at an especially delicate political moment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party is preparing for August 17 primaries, where more than 100,000 party members will determine the party's Knesset slate ahead of Israel's October 27 general election. Katz is widely viewed as seeking a higher position on that list, making any appearance of politicizing military leadership especially damaging.

Eisenkot did not stop there. He argued that the government "is not fit to safeguard the security of the state," adding that "very soon, the people of Israel will have worthy and responsible leadership, with Israel's welfare and security as its sole concern."

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was equally unsparing, accusing the government of turning against the very institution charged with defending the nation.


"After dismantling the IDF from the outside and paving the way for mass draft evasion, the October 7 government has now decided to dismantle the IDF from within and guarantee complete chaos," Bennett wrote. "Tonight, I say to every citizen of Israel, and to all IDF soldiers and commanders, both active-duty and reservists: Hold on tight, the reinforcements are on their way. Soon, we will replace them, and together we will set things right."

Israel's security has always rested on a delicate constitutional understanding. Civilian leaders rightly command the military, but they do so through established legal authority and institutional restraint, not televised declarations or campaign calculations. Democracies survive because governments change while institutions endure.

Whether this latest dispute proves to be an isolated political misjudgment or a symptom of something more corrosive remains to be seen. But history offers a consistent lesson: once military appointments become instruments of partisan advantage, public confidence in both government and the armed forces begins to erode. That is a price Israel, surrounded by enemies and dependent upon the professionalism of the IDF, can scarcely afford to pay.

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Netanyahu green lights the death penalty for convicted terrorists

It's about time--Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday green-lighted legislation for courts to make it easier to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorists. He announced the decision at a coalition meeting, according to Kan Bet.

Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home Party who also serves as minister of education, pushed the prime minister to advance the bill. Evidently, he wants to give terrorists a different kind of education that will last a lifetime.

The death penalty bill for terrorists, [aka: "The Martyr's Fast-Track Bill"] passed a preliminary vote in January. It's the flagship legislation of the Yisrael Beytenu Party led by Defense Minister Abigdor [aka: "A Very Big Door"] Liberman. He blamed Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked also of the Jewish home Party, of delaying the legislation.

But now Bennett reportedly told Bibi during his conversation that he was fine with the bill.

The Likud Party whip Dudi Amsalem agreed with Bennett's version of events saying the Jewish Home Party wasn't behind the delay of putting in the legislation.

The last time Israel imposed the death penalty was in 1962 in the execution of Nazi SS Officer Adolf Eichmann.

It's time to bring it back.

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St. Paddy's Day in Israel

Tomorrow is Israel's big election where the current Prime Minister, Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu and his Likud party is in a close race with the centrist Zionist party. The latest polls show the Zionist party is slightly ahead.

The Center-left Zionist party is led by Tsipi Livni and Isaac Herzog, both predicting that an "upheaval" is in the wings. If this is true, then I believe Israel is doomed. If the government goes "dove," then the Hamas fox will eat it for dinner.

Bibi vowed in a Monday interview, that if he is re-elected, a Palestinian state will not be established. For those of you who are not anti-Semitic and perhaps even pro-Israel, that's a good thing. Let's be clear, Hamas wants the total destruction of Israel and the Muslims in Gaza and throughout the Islamic world, want the same thing.

It isn't about land--it's about hating Jews.

Bibi made it clear that if Israel withdrew from the current occupied areas to allow for a Palestinian state to occupy that land, it would spell disaster as it would be taken over by jihadists whose main ambition in life is death and eternal Paradise with 72 virgins, young boys and rivers of wine. 

The surest way to have the gift of Paradise is to kill Jews and infidels, but especially Jews. Mohammad hated them. The Koran hates them. Allah hates them. (Funny, you'd think a wise and all-powerful god such as Allah would know better than to create a group of people he hates and ask humans, who are not as powerful than he is, to kill them. Maybe this Allah god isn't all that powerful, after all.)

Back in 2005, Israel peacefully withdrew from the Gaza Strip. Enter Hamas, who soon started escalating their attacks on Israeli civilians. Livni and Herzog believe these barbarians can be reasoned with--they are useful idiots.

In a speech he gave on Monday at Har Homa, Bibi said, "The choice is symbolic: the Likud led by me, that will continue to stand firmly for (Israel's) vital interests, compared with a left-wing government . . . ready to accept any dictate."

Herzog, like Obama, promises to repair ties with the Palestinian Islamists. It's difficult to tell if they are both simply naive, simply simple, or have other plans in mind that isn't being spoken. In Obama's case, I wouldn't doubt it.

But at the very least, the Obama administration should stay out of Israel's political affairs and stop trying to influence the outcome of this election. There is now a Senate probe exploring the OneVoice Movement and its relationship with V15 from Israel.

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