Benny Gantz to be named IDF Chief of Staff
The government informed the Turkel Committee on Sunday that it wishes to name
Benny Gantz to be the next IDF Chief of Staff. The government hopes to have the appointment approved by the committee next week and by the cabinet next Sunday. Gantz would then take over immediately after Gabi Ashkenazi's retirement.
Yoav Galant, whose appointment as Ashkenazi's successor was officially canceled at Sunday's cabinet meeting, appealed to the Supreme Court and lost on Sunday.
So it looks like Benny Gantz will be the next IDF Chief of Staff.
Labels: Benny Gantz, Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Gabi Ashkenazi, Yair Naveh, Yoav Galant
Government reaches plea bargain with Anat Kam
Israel Radio reports that the government has reached a plea bargain with Anat Kam, the soldier who
stole thousands of documents from Yair Naveh, who is currently in line to be vice chairman of Israel's Chiefs of Staff, and to be chairman at least temporarily. Kam turned the documents over to Haaretz reporter Uri Blau, who published articles based on the documents, and then
hid out in London for months. The documents were highly sensitive, and involved, among other things, Israel's plans to defend itself in case of war.
Under the terms of the plea bargain, which will be presented to the court on Sunday, Kam would plead guilty to charges relating to the unauthorized retention of government property and documents, and the government will drop the treason charges that are pending against Kam. The government has also apparently agreed not to request more than a nine-year prison sentence with respect to Kam.
North Tel Aviv strikes again. If Kam had been a 'settler' and had stolen documents from a Leftist general, she'd probably be sentenced to life in prison. As I wrote in an
earlier post dealing with the possibility of a plea bargain for Kam:
Funny that no one offered 14-year old Chaya or Margalit Har Shefi - both of whom did much less to endanger the country's security - a plea bargain.
But that's just one example of the double standard at work in the Israeli 'justice system.' Here's another one - also from today. Israel Radio reported today (Tuesday) morning that the police are out in force to prevent demonstrators against the 'peace negotiations' from blocking highways in protest. You will recall that two months ago, the police shut down a major highway (the Jerusalem - Tel Aviv highway) at the height of rush hour to allow the Shalit family and their supporters to march in protest of 'government inaction' on Shalit's release.
The longer I live in this country, the more amazed I become at the blatantly unfair manner in which the law is applied here. When it comes to treating people fairly, we are on the level of a banana republic. The law is often selectively enforced.
It's happened again.
Labels: Anat Kam, IDF war preparations, treason, Yair Naveh
Galant appointment withdrawn, Naveh serving 'temporarily' instead
I'm sure some of you are wondering what happened with
Yoav Galant's appointment as IDF Chief of Staff.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak decided to
cancel Galant's appointment. Instead, Barak is proposing to appoint Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh (pictured) as acting chief of staff for 60 days. Naveh would be the first religious officer to hold the post, but would not receive a promotion in rank and would serve in a caretaker status.
Some of you might recall Naveh's name from a
different context, which the media is mainly ignoring today. Maybe
having your pocket picked is a requirement for an IDF Chief of Staff.
Here's some
background on Naveh.
The son of Holocaust survivors, Naveh was born in Gedera in 1957 and went to high school at the prestigious Netiv Meir Yeshiva in the capital. He was drafted into the IDF in 1975 and climbed the ranks in the Golani Brigade until he was appointed commander of the elite infantry unit in 1991.
He later served as chief infantry and paratroopers officer, and in 1999 was appointed commander of the Gaza Division, a position he held during the first years of the second intifada. In 2003 he was appointed OC Home Front Command and in 2005 he became head of the IDF’s Central Command.
In 2007, Naveh retired from the army after 32 years of service and shortly thereafter was hired as the CEO of CityPass, the consortium that is building the light rail in Jerusalem.
He was brought back to the army in October to serve as deputy to Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, who had been tapped to succeed Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and on Tuesday lost the post.
Naveh’s career has not always been easy. As commander of the Central Command, he oversaw the evacuation in 2005 from four settlements in Samaria as part of the disengagement.
Settlement supporters did not forgive him for his participation in the pullout and right-wing activists began stalking Naveh and held weekly demonstrations outside his home in Givat Shmuel.
Netiv Meir class of 1975 would put him two years behind
Avraham Burg.
Moshe (Boogie) Yaalon - a former IDF Chief of Staff and would-be defense minister -
ripped Barak for the mess.
Deputy Prime Minister and former IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon said Wednesday that it is the government's responsibility to appoint a new IDF chief of staff as quickly as possible. Ya'alon was referring to Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to cancel the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, following a long fought battle in the court over issues with his appointment.
Ya'alon told Israel Radio that the best possible scenario would have been to allow outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to continue to serve in his role until a new candidate takes the position, rather than appointing Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh to the role.
Ya'alon claimed that Barak was was leading the IDF system into insanity, but that some of the responsibility rests on the entire government as well. In Ya'alon's opinion, it is strictly the role of the government to fill the void left by recent legal proceedings, and that "the process of the last few months hurt the IDF, the chief of staff, General Galant, Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, and the entire government's status."
Kadima's Shaul Mofaz - also a former Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff - also ripped Barak.
According to an official statement released by committee chair MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), Wednesday was a "complex and sad day for the state of Israel." Mofaz said that he "opposes the personal persecution campaign against him [Galant]." He added that the committee plans to discuss the legitimacy of the process that Galant underwent, and to examine the possibility of imposing tight parliamentary supervision on future proceedings.
According to Mofaz, the past procedures surrounding Galant's appointment presented a "fundamental constitutional problem." He added: "the decision that was accepted yesterday by the defense minister and prime minister does not reflect what is right and needed for Israel at this time."
Like Ya'alon, the negative opinions on the situation do not center around the man who will fill the temporary appointment himself: Naveh. Rather, the internal conflict resides on the decision not to simply extend Ashkenazi's term until the role is filled.
Mofaz stressed, "My criticism is not personally directed at Deputy Chief of Staff General Yair Naveh, rather the inevitable feeling that ego and personal considerations made the decision not to extend the current chief of staff's term."
Barak and Ashkenazi are allegedly not on speaking terms.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Moshe Yaalon, Shaul Mofaz, Yair Naveh, Yoav Galant
The government informed the Turkel Committee on Sunday that it wishes to name Benny Gantz to be the next IDF Chief of Staff. The government hopes to have the appointment approved by the committee next week and by the cabinet next Sunday. Gantz would then take over immediately after Gabi Ashkenazi's retirement.
