Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter isn’t 10 feet tall or made of steel. He is a man who, if he told you to walk through fire, you’d do it – because he’d go first and show you how it’s done.
Winter became a household name in Israel while serving as the commander of the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion during Operation Protective Edge (2014) when he invoked God before battle in a letter to his soldiers. This is part of what he wrote:
“A great privilege has befallen us to command and serve in the Givati Brigade at this time. History has chosen us to be at the forefront of the struggle against the ‘Gazan’ terrorist enemy who defies, curses, and reviles the God of Israel’s Armies. We will act together with determination and strength, initiative and strategy, and we will strive to engage with the enemy. I trust you, each and every one of you, that you will act in this spirit, the spirit of Israeli fighters who lead the way for the camp. ‘The spirit that is called Givati.’
I lift my eyes to the heavens and call out with you, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One.’ May the God of Israel grant us success in our ways, as we go forth to fight for your people Israel against the enemy that insults Your name. In the name of the IDF fighters, and particularly the fighters of the brigade and the commanders.
May the scripture be fulfilled in us that is written: ‘For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’ And we say, Amen.
Together, and only together, we will prevail.”
Certain elements in Israeli society objected vehemently to framing the war as a battle between “the Gazan enemy who reviles the God of Israel’s Armies”. Many of Israel’s elites, including the highest-ranking officers in the IDF, insisted that Israel is not in a religious war, certainly not with all of Gaza, and loudly demanded that God not be made a part of it.
That was the point when the Israeli public began to have an inkling that there is something wrong with the highest levels of the IDF.
Ignoring the uproar, Winter led his men in battle with courage and determination, as he’d done for the last three decades, and returned, reporting of prayers answered in battle.
No wonder the elites of the IDF pushed him out.
In the aftermath of the Hamas invasion, it was shocking to learn that the man widely regarded as an exceptional commander, with an illustrious career, who knows how to win, was considered “unfit” for promotion. The leaders responsible for our security when Gaza invaded, had no position for Winter.
Shocking but perhaps not surprising. Hellenists fear Maccabees. Jewish strength, under the auspices of God, doesn’t mesh with the mindset of those who desire the auspices of America or NATO. Today the divide is most obvious between the field ranks in the IDF, soldiers who witnessed the carnage and are fighting for the honor of sisters defiled, brothers slaughtered, and hostages who must be brought home versus the high-ranking officers, those currently serving and retired officers who have become politicians and news “analysts” – the elites of Israeli society who instinctively adhere to the American Don’t and have convinced themselves that victory isn’t something tangible.
Last week, I was at a conference, in a crowd of people who understand the necessity of victory. We listened to several prominent, intelligent speakers discuss the state of our nation, one year after the invasion. Although Israelis tend to be cynical and rarely get excited about specific individuals when Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter walked into the room there were hushed whispers of anticipation. He came quietly, with no fanfare, and sat, waiting his turn to speak.
When he walked to the podium the crowd broke out into enthusiastic, appreciative applause. So much so that this warrior turned red in embarrassment.
Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter is astonishingly humble. He explained that he never saw the military as a career, for him it was only about service. He wasn’t there for the title, ranks, or glory. He wanted to protect the nation and bring his soldiers home safely.
He proceeded to give a breathtaking speech (that Hebrew speakers can hear here – note some of the applause has been cut out of this clip).
Winter pointed out that as Jews, we have the concept of peace deeply ingrained in us. The word peace appears repeatedly in the prayers said three times a day, every day. It’s the word we use in Hebrew for both hello and goodbye. Someone else pointed out that the blessing after meals ends with a request for God to give us courage and bless us with peace. Courage comes before peace.
And that is what Winter wanted to say – peace is part of our Jewish DNA, so much so that we melt a little when anyone offers peace and yet we must understand that in the Middle East, these offerings are false. There is no peace, only a truce accepted when weak, to allow for time to gain strength and destroy the other party later on. To be safe we must fight.
He spoke about his experiences on October 7th, highlighting the individual heroes who saved the Nation (with no focus on what he did that day). He discussed the concept of responsibility, the necessity for unity to win, and faith that while things look very bleak now, he doesn’t believe that God would keep the Nation of Israel for thousands of years, bring us back to our ancestral homeland, only to allow us to be destroyed.
He says that it doesn’t matter how he was treated by the system. What matters is that now, all the IDF units, the field soldiers, and their direct commanders invoke God before entering Gaza.
He made everyone stronger with his words. We all saw that he means what he says and lives what he believes, and he does it with strength and gentleness, courage and humility.
Afterward, I went to thank him.
I told him: “You said you aren’t used to applause but, you see, we don’t have any other way to thank you.”
He turned red again and said “I know”, trying to avoid more compliments but I hadn’t finished.
“I want to explain what people are thanking you for. You see, we were always told “Every Hebrew mother must know that she has entrusted the fate of her sons to commanders who are worthy of it.” (a saying that has been part of the IDF ethos since Ben Gurion). We all thought that that was what we were doing. On October 7th we learned that not all commanders are worthy of that trust and a national ideal was shattered. That hurts a lot. But then there is you.”
Listening quietly and thinking deeply about my words, his eyes filled with tears.
I continued: “You show us that the ideal we always had DOES exist. And you provide a role model so that our sons can know what a commander is supposed to be like. THAT is what we are thanking you for. Thank you.”
{Reposted from the author’s blog}
