Egozi’s Fury

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It happens nearly every week: Video footage taken by leftist organizations in the West Bank, showing violent behaviour by soldiers towards Palestinians. In most of these cases, this is enough evidence to punish the soldier for “misconduct”. Only later it becomes clear that these are videos edited tendentiously. This happened again just last week. It’s funny how IDF, with all its intelligence means, does not check before it punishes.

In the West Bank there are groups of leftist organizations that are detremined  to cause provocations and to film the soldiers’ reaction. All this is tendentiously edited and distributed around the world in order to taint Israel’s name. It’s a shame that IDF falls into the trap too many times.

This assists to slander Israel. It also demotivates a lot of soldiers to do their job in front of provocations that, in many other places – just as democratic as Israel – would receive much tougher reactions.

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The farce called “Iran’s nuclear talks ” continutes still. Another round and another round. Another squirm by the Secretary of State, John Kerry, who explains that Washington knows who it’s dealing with in Tehran. I highly doubt that. If they knew in Washington who really runs things in Tehran, the conversations would have ended long ago but this silly game goes on and Iran is still speeding towards the bomb. 

I’ve said several times before: I would like to hear what is secretly being said in Tehran about Washington’s naivety. That would have been a great stand-up act.

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Now it’s the IDF prohibition for soldiers to grow a beard. Before that it was punishment for eating a sandwich with pork. Does the IDF have nothing better to deal with? It seems that some factors in the IDF don’t fully understand what’s important and what isn’t, so let me make a few suggestions:

If you want to deal with discipline – make sure weapons aren’t stolen so easily from IDF bases. If you care about discipline – make sure good food isn’t thrown away just because someone is too lazy to clear it away and keep in refrigerated. If discipline and care of soldiers is so important to you – make sure soldiers look like soldiers, even in administrative units, without the additions of sports shoes and non-standard items.

Discipline is the basis for every military. But so is brains.

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Last week was the Paris AirShow and Israel was there, full force. Once again it turned out that what matters in the security world is politics. How many weapon deals with Israeli companies did not come through because politicians in some countries don’t accept the recommendations of operation level officials? In countries where war is only what people watch in the movies or on TV, it doesn’t matter if their goverment buys a low-grade system.

Israel is developing and producing the most advanced weapon systems in the world but politicians in some countries just aren’t making rational choices.

The details can’t be revealed here, but several people in several security industries who have seen it all, are surprised each and every time in face of the imperviousness of politicians in some countries of the world.

Arie Egozi
iHLS editor-in-chief