Every time the Left pins its hopes on a new general, the wisecrackers go crazy on Twitter: "They worship militarists, and they call us 'fascists'?" The truth is that the situation is much more ridiculous.
The Left worships generals who made a living from the "occupation," yet the moment they remove their uniforms and rush into politics they essentially say their entire lives were devoted to betraying their own values. Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni, a member of the NGO Commanders for Israel's Security, an NGO, admitted as much at the Herzliya Conference: "We raised the occupation to the level of art. I was GOC Central Command, general of the occupation. Is that what we want to be?" he asked.
Shamni was, as he said, GOC Central Command. The very word "central" should have made it clear to him which geographic area he thought Israel should give to the enemy as part of the divorce settlement he was marketing. Since the "occupation" of central Israel torments his conscience, may we ask how commander Shamni made it all the way to the rank of major-general in an organization of occupation, against his conscience?
The generals of Commanders for Israel's Security claim there is no military solution [to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] and that to save Israel we must "divorce" the Palestinians and give them half our home. They might be the only professionals in the world who believe that their profession is not a solution to a problem, but rather the problem itself.
But ever since former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz threw his hat into the political ring, the Left's military fever has grown even hotter. Polls are projecting around 12 Knesset seats for Gantz's new Israel Resilience party, mainly because he has been silent about his political views. He hasn't presented any qualities other than having been a general. Gantz's campaign claims the commander is keeping his opinions to himself out of "political considerations." Rightly so. Because if his political views are revealed, some people might not vote for him.
Someone who doesn't enjoy the blind (and deaf) admiration afforded to generals is Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Gallant. Supporters of Gantz attack Gallant for daring to criticize a "person who has devoted his entire life to the security of Israel." The fact that they themselves are insulting a person who has also devoted his life to the security of Israel doesn't give them pause. Gallant was GOC Southern Command – sadly, he had to face a consensus enemy, unlike Maj. Gen. Shamni, who was policing an "occupied population" as head of the Central Command.
When you try to understand the reasoning of the Left, you discover that in total contrast to right-wing fascists, who tend to choose leaders from the civilian population, the Left worships former generals who have become warriors for defeat without a battle, and admit that for most of their lives they operated against their own consciences. But even better is a general who keeps quiet, because there's no doubt that his silence indicates secret plans to implement all the Left's hidden desires. And if you ask what they desire? They'll just say, "You don't understand what 'secret' means…"
What the Left doesn't like are generals like Gallant: a general who doesn't regret his contribution to the security of the state but is proud of it, who believes that his path is the right one, who sees the IDF as a moral organization and does not project imaginary processes onto it, and believes that central Israel belongs to Israel – not to the enemy. And of course, as long as the enemy remains an enemy, his goal is not to divorce it, but rather to be widowed.
