This is one of those Israeli stories that require more footnotes than actual text. To start, the word I chose to translate in the headline as “Dilapidated” is “Mechukmakim,” which, in addition to describing the sorry state of the subject matter, also packs a lot of contempt. And it’s the contempt, both for Hamas as well as for the IDF chief of staff who’s been stuck for eight months now trying to beat them, that the Hebrew speakers got from Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Ofer Winter’s statement.
Ofer Winter (Vinter) belongs to a new class of senior IDF officers: national religious, fiercely patriotic, and destined by his cultural and religious affiliations and convictions to hit his head against the glass ceiling separating the senior command and the officers who attended the wrong high schools in the wrong parts of the country.
Winter earned the target on his back on July 9, 2014, when, commander of the Givati Brigade during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, he issued his soldiers a “Commander’s Page for Battle” that went as follows:
“History has chosen us to be at the forefront of the fight against the fierce Gazan terrorist enemy, who defies, curses, and reviles the God of Israel’s armies. I lift my eyes to the heavens and call with you, ‘Shema Israel, Hashem Eloheinu, Hashem Echad.’ God of Israel, please make our path successful, as we go and stand to fight for Your people Israel against the enemy who blasphemes against Your name.”
It was an erudite message that combined a strong Jewish motif of asking God for help in the ensuing battle with a reference to the Philistines, former dwellers of Gaza, whose champion, Goliath, was killed by little David son of Jesse after he, Goliath, blasphemed against God’s name.
It was also the message that proved to be Winter’s career-ender, as Winter’s commanders and Israel’s left-leaning mainstream media were shocked to hear an Israeli senior officer saying Jewish stuff to his soldiers.
And it didn’t help that, in 2021, Winter spoke out about his objection to the attack on Rafah in which three soldiers were killed, including Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose bodies were never released by Hamas. Winter blamed the Commander of the Southern Command, Sami Turgeman, for taking too big a risk.
There were a few minor clashes afterward between Winter and the IDF brass, which the army would have turned a blind eye to had it been a different senior officer. Winter was called on the carpet on each one of those. For the final 18 months of his service he was kept at home, drawing a salary and doing nothing, until, on May 8, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi informed Winter of the end of his service in the IDF.
And now, after I’ve provided a whole lot of context, here’s what Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Ofer Winter said Tuesday night at the Jerusalem Day celebration in Ariel:
“Let no one confuse us, saying that we don’t want peace. We are all about peace. But the enemy interprets our desire for peace as weakness. This is the problem in the Middle East.
“The role of the IDF is to win and to overwhelm the enemy. Not everything is so complex. I know personally most of the field commanders in the IDF and they are doing everything to win, it’s not their problem. You win with what’s available. Insufficient ammunition? No legitimacy? Nonsense. Who is this enemy anyway? Who is Hamas? Some dilapidated Palestinians – you must take off the gloves and fight properly, it can be done, and quickly. Who is Hezbollah? No disrespect, but we are the strongest army in the Middle East, not because of our equipment, but because of our spirit.”
The audience applauded him during his speech, and Winter responded: “Thank you for the applause but don’t think I’m going into politics. I’m still a fighter for Israel.”
“To bring about victory, we must continue the unity we started. Unite all the people of Israel. How do we do that? Very simple. – we don’t fight.”
Should Netanyahu win the next election (whether soon or in 2026), he could do worse than appoint Ofer Winter as his Defense Minister.
