Every single news outlet in Israel on Thursday reported that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced his intention to retire at the end of December – without informing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Some noted that Halevi did not involve the Prime Minister on the eve of October 7 either, and now he continues the same approach, announcing his retirement without involving the political echelon – his bosses.
The IDF spokesman’s office responded: “The report on the expected retirement date of the Chief of Staff is false and lacks any foundation. The Chief of Staff is now entirely focused on the conduct of the war, on leading the IDF in fighting our enemies and achieving the goals of the war.”
Recently there were reports that the Chief of Staff said in closed conversations that if Israel accepts a deal with Hamas that leads to a cessation of the war for a few weeks, he would announce his resignation.
In those closed conversations with his associates, Halevy marked the month of December as a possible time for his retirement because by the end of the year, according to the IDF’s estimate, the investigations into the events of October 7 in all the branches and formations would be completed, and Halevy would sign the report as Chief of Staff and present it to the public. Also, by the end of December, the IDF is expected to complete preparations for an all-out war in Lebanon.
After October 7, Halevi accepted responsibility for the catastrophe but did not announce when he would pay the price by leaving his post.
ANOTHER GENERAL BITES THE DUST
This week, Brigadier General Shariel officially announced the end of his service, some 11 months after October 7. Shariel commanded Unit 8200, the largest intelligence collection unit of the IDF military intelligence. Shariel, who had a significant part in the failure, date not yet determined.
In a letter he issued on Thursday to the military intelligence unit, Shariel wrote: “On October 7, I did not fulfill the mission as I expected of myself, as my subordinates and commanders expected of me, and as the citizens of the country I love so much expected of me.”
He continued, “I wish to exercise my personal responsibility as the commander of the unit and at the time determined by my commanders to transfer the cane to the next shift.”
WORST CHIEF EVER
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy’s short stint at the top was mired in sin from the start. On September 4, 2022, two months ahead of a national election, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced his intention to appoint him as the 23rd Chief of Staff of the IDF. The appointment was illegal because Gantz was serving at the time in a transitional, caretaker government, which was not allowed to appoint a chief of staff. Also, Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi was perfectly willing to continue to serve until the next defense minister would take office and be able to appoint his chosen candidate.
The illegal move was made possible only after a supposed opinion from the Attorney General, and an extraordinary meeting of the advisory committee for the appointment of senior officials in the civil service, whose approval is required for the appointment of the chief of staff. Gantz presented a fake case, according to which the state was in grave danger unless a new chief of staff was appointed immediately.
It was sheer idiocy, and everybody knew this was simply a move by Gantz to saddle his successor with a left-leaning candidate in sheer disrespect for the law. But in Israel, we don’t need no stinking respect for the law, and so, on October 23, 2022, the Lapid caretaker government approved Halevy’s appointment, and on January 16, 2023, after Netanyahu’s government was already in charge, Halevy was promoted to the rank of major general and assumed his position as Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, God help us.
Halevy didn’t only represent Benny Gantz’s immediate political need to sabotage the Netanyahu government’s defense ministry – he was committed to continuing the dismantling of half the IDF’s ground forces, to create a lean and smart army that relies heavily on its technological superiority. Halevy followed three chiefs of staff who each contributed to the new IDF, until on October 7, 2023, the army was not only lean, it was paralyzed, and stupid. The alerts kept coming about thousands of Hamas terrorists rushing the border and slaughtering Israeli soldiers and civilians – but Herzi Halevi and his core commanders chose to ignore information that didn’t sinch with their worldview.
And much as he has done now, ignoring his duty to obey the political echelon, the representatives of the sovereign, the people, Halevy ignored his duty on October 6, too, when he kept PM Netanyahu and DM Yoav Gallant out of the loop.
Halevy has spent the past 11 months, more than fighting the war to defeat Hamas, fighting the war to cleanse his record. This is why he has been pushing so fiercely against Netanyahu’s determination to continue fighting even at the cost of the lives of hostages. Halevy cannot afford dead hostages if he wants the public to forgive him. He has also been synching his plans for his day after with the IDF investigation of his actions, which is being conducted under his control.
With that, and with many more acts of betrayal of his soldiers, such as destroying the careers of two Nahal officers who shot at a very suspicious food truck in Gaza, killing humanitarian activists; prosecuting a soldier who on October 7 “murdered” a Hamas terrorist; and throwing-to-the-dogs reservists who were falsely accused of sodomizing a Hamas murderer – Herzi Halevy has earned his place as Israel’s worst chief of staff ever.
