A General’s Warning is Hard to Hear - Golan Warns of the Danger of Extremism

Could someone please explain to Bibi Netanyahu that denial is not a river in Egypt?

Earlier this week our “esteemed” Prime Minister attacked the Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF, Major General Yair Golan; for the content of his speech, delivered on the eve of Holocaust Memorial day, in which he stated (translation)...

“If there is something that frightens me in the memory of the Holocaust, it is identifying horrifying processes that occurred in Europe, 70, 80 and 90 years ago and finding evidence of their existence here in our midst, today, in 2016.”

Now one can argue legitimately that a soldier, no matter how senior; should not be making what can be perceived as political statements. One also might argue that any comparison or even mention of the holocaust when discussing Israeli society and its behaviour is highly insulting and in effect cheapens the memory of the holocaust.

However...

Not only has Bibi openly attacked a senior officer in the IDF who is unable to defend himself in the public arena, Bibi and his cohorts in the most right wing government in Israel’s history could not wait to take pot shots at a highly decorated officer and a man who has devoted his life to defending the State of Israel; for daring to voice a genuine concern which in his opinion represents a clear and present danger to Israel’s security and well being.

Some might see the irony in Bibi attacking anyone for using the Holocaust and cheapening its memory. Bibi himself is s serial abuser of holocaust memory for his own expediency. Is this not the same Bibi who not too long ago suggested that it was the Palestinian leader, Grand Mufti, Haj Amin El Husseini who was, in actual fact, responsible for the Holocaust and not Hitler and his murderous regime?

Not to be outdone, our Culture Minister, Miri Regev called for Golan to resign failing which he should be fired. Perhaps this is not so surprising from an Israeli politician who in 2012 called African immigrants a “cancer” in Israeli society during a speech, to an angry mob, which to be frank, if one swapped the word Jews for immigrants, would have been very much at home in 1930s Germany.

Regev later apologised for her wording stating, “When I compared the migrant worker phenomenon to cancer I was referring to the way the phenomenon had spread, and not anything else. If anyone took it otherwise and was consequently offended, I apologize and I surely did not intend to hurt either Holocaust survivors or cancer patients,” So much for Miri.

Not surprisingly Naftali Bennet, Head of the Bayt Hayehudi and our current Education Minister had to get in on the act stating that “the deputy chief of staff has erred, and he must rectify it immediately”.

Bennet lead a party of which one third of its MKs are nothing more than Jewish supremacists who owe their spiritual allegiance to the extremist “Rabbi”, Dov Lior, who after Jewish terrorist, Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs, Lior described Goldstein as “holier than all the martyrs of the Holocaust.” Bennett may find attack a better form of defence however, he may be better getting his own house in order and cease pandering to once again exactly the kind of behaviour and attitudes that General Golan alluded to in his speech.

So back to Bibi, his cohorts and that river in Egypt...

Let’s take some recent examples of behaviour in Israeli society, which perhaps may have led to Major General Golan feeling the need to comment while commemorating the greatest tragedy ever to befall the Jewish people, not to mention the greatest crime in the history of humanity.

How about crowds of hoodlums wandering around the streets shouting “death to Arabs”, or an extremist Jewish supremacist organisation, which calls upon “willing Jews” to raise a cry “and fight the devious phenomenon” of Christianity, which they also refer to as “that accursed religion.”

Then there are Israeli football fans chanting “death to Arabs” when Arabs or other Muslim players take the field. Israeli politicians who argue strenuously that it is perfectly legitimate to separate birthing mothers by race and religion, or even a Prime Minister alarmed at the thought of Arabs voting in large numbers. Replace the words Muslim or Arab with Jew and it may just sound familiar.

And sadly there is more, or should I say worse...

How about the burning of Muslim and Christian places of worship, the destruction of Arab property and fields, the beating of Arabs for being Arabs. And then worse still, indeed about as bad as it gets, the fire bombing of an Arab family home, killing a baby and mother, seriously injuring a five year old sibling or the kidnap and burning alive of an innocent Arab teenager, because he is an Arab. Once again, try replace the words, Arab, Muslim or Christian with the word Jew... You’re getting the idea?

Of course, and I am relieved to say that such behaviour and incidents represent a very small, highly radical and extreme section of Israeli society however it does exist. Failure to recognise and acknowledge its existence is pure folly, not to mention negligent, irresponsible and perhaps suicidal in the long term.

The holocaust must serve as a warning to all to be vigilant in the face of radicalism, intolerance and racism. It must drive us to douse the flames of extremism wherever it rears its ugly head and early on at its source. Any and all societies are susceptible to such horror. We are not exempt. Indeed because as Jews we, more than any other, understand the dire consequences of allowing hate and evil to take hold, we must not be afraid to call it when we see it and stamp it out before it can get any traction whatsoever.

It is imperative that we refuse to allow, Bibi, any and all politicians to politicise the IDF. Major General Golan is tasked with the defence and security of the State and the people of Israel. It is indeed fitting that he chose the commemoration of the Holocaust to highlight the impending danger from within our own society. Politician’s attempts to pervert his words and openly attack a senior officer in the IDF for cheap populist political gain is cynical in the extreme and deserves our contempt.

For us, General Golan’s words of warning are most uncomfortable, indeed hard to hear however, in calling out the extremists and highlighting the threat they, their behaviour and their radical ideology represent to our country, our Deputy Chief of Staff has continued in the best traditions of the IDF, showing great courage and leadership as he fights our enemies, all our enemies.

He is fighting for our values. He is fighting for our future. He is fighting for our very soul. He is fighting for Israel.