The Israeli military is once again preaching morality to the country as a whole. Every time it seems that Israel has beat its addiction to militarism, another war comes, and with it the arrogance of its commanders. It isn't always military hubris – it's a little difficult for the army to be overconfident after the debacle of October 7. There is an even more brazen arrogance: It says the Israel Defense Forces has the moral right to demand that the political leadership be worthy of it.
In other words, there is an army of incomparable worthiness, and below or above it is a leadership that is unworthy of it. No arrogance could be more astonishing, especially in the midst of the October 7 war. On the war's 159th day, Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfuss exemplified this position. The problem is only with the leadership; our army is immaculate.
The IDF is a shining beacon of principles and good conduct, the government is to blame for everything. It is true that Goldfuss, like all the army's commanders, "bowed his head" in the face of "our resounding failure," but he is still convinced that he, the commander of the Fire Formation Division that destroyed Khan Yunis and the city's environs, is a role model who can demand that others be worthy of.
When the war ends, one (distant) day, it is doubtful that Goldfuss will be able to leave Israel; he is liable to be a wanted man in many countries. But the world is antisemitic and the reckoning must be done here: After this war, no one will listen to preaching from its commanders. When waging such a bloody war, with such a horrific number of civilians killed, most of them women and children, and such massive destruction, the IDF's commanders must take a vow of humility and of deep self-reflection over what they have perpetrated. Preaching morality is the last thing they have a right to do.
Israel has a disastrous prime minister and government; it also has a population filled with hatred and lust to avenge October 7, afflicted with moral blindness. The military is in no way superior to it. The army is not above them in anything. The division commander's demand for more unity is frightening; there is nothing more frightening in a democracy than a demand for unity, especially in a state with a leadership like Israel's. Unity means unity with the far right and alignment with it. Unity now is silence, and the silencing of opposition.
But the division commander's demand is also unnecessary: Israel is united, much more than it is depicted as being. There is almost no opposition to continuing the war or to the army's brutal conduct in it. And there is opposition, near-unanimous, to a diplomatic solution after the war.
From Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid to Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, everyone is opposed. Goldfuss should be satisfied with the unbelievable support for the war: For nearly six months now, his 98th Division has been able to kill and destroy unhindered; what could show more "unity"?
Goldfuss is said to be a very meritorious officer, as is claimed about every officer here, and he comes off as a caring and courageous man. With dedication and sacrifice he is conducting a war that is more unnecessary and heinous by the day. One can understand the frustration of officers and soldiers who have been in Gaza for five months when they hear the nattering of politicians and commentators, the pointless prattle and the level of the public debate in Israel.
The level of debate in the military might be higher, but a division commander under whom so many crimes are being committed; an army that thinks it is possible to bully 2 million people from one place to another, which wouldn't even be done to sheep; an army that bombs hospitals, shelters and universities; an army that shoots people waving white flags and seeking shelter nearly every day; an army that has obliterated the Gaza Strip, possibly permanently, and killed more than 12,000 women and children in a few months, ought to focus on its own handiwork. Brig. Gen. Goldfuss would do well to look in the mirror before complaining about the politicians. He should look around and ask himself, what purpose did all of this serve and by what right was it legitimate. The leadership isn't worthy of Goldfuss? I wouldn't want to be worthy of him.