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Be’eri investigation: calls for accountability for leadership failure

Theo

The investigation into Be’eri is heartbreaking.

It is impossible to read it without scratching your head and wondering how this terrible event could have happened to us. The investigation includes unimaginable events, each of which could fill the lesson plan of every officer and commander of the Israel Defense Forces for years to come.

The man who investigated the fighting around Be’eri, retired Major General Mickey Edelstein, is one of the people I trust most in the world. What’s more, he was responsible for the security of the residents of Be’eri and the surrounding area for years.

During one of my assignments under his command in the Gaza Division, I saw him stand before them, bow his head, and apologize dozens of times for events that did not even come close to the first line of the investigation he presented.

But as I read this investigation, what I couldn’t shake was the frustration and anger about what happened to us then and what has happened to us since.

An Israeli soldier walks past the remains of a burned-down house in Kibbutz Beeri, southern Israel, October 17, 2023, after Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip entered the building (Source: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

I am angry that it is said that the IDF failed in defense. Those who failed at all levels to defend Be’eri have names and ranks, and they are not mentioned or mentioned. We did not wait nine months to learn that the IDF had failed. Unfortunately, we knew they had failed.

Mickey Edelstein sent again to bow his head

I am angry that we are told that there were heroic stories from the battles of Be’eri and that the fighters were heroes. We already know that. We never blamed the brave soldiers who risked their lives and paid for it. We never thought that the problem was with the lower ranks of the Israeli forces, with those who attacked, risked their lives and even paid for it.

I am angry that nine months and four days after October 7th, only an investigation has been completed and presented to the public when we are so far from the truth. We deserve more than that, at least at this point.

I am angry that Major General (ret.) Mickey Edelstein was once again sent to stand and bow his head before the people of Be’eri, while the commanders of the event, from the field to the General Staff, were not there to bow their heads.

I am angry that those responsible for this failure, from the field to the Prime Minister’s office, are still in their posts and are not even making any move to pack up and leave. Some are even suggesting that Be’eri is not their responsibility and that it will be a long time before they pay the price for the failure, if at all.

I would be happy if it were not necessary to say this, but these days I add: I do not expect them to leave out of revenge. It does not make me happy that excellent people, some of them, end their roles prematurely. I expect this from them, out of the belief that this is the beginning of the road to recovery and correction that is to come.

Criticism does not come easily to me, especially in these days when the storm is raging and parts of the Israeli government are engaging in irrelevant, irresponsible and unstatesmanlike attacks on the Israeli Defense Forces and their commanders. I think twice about whether such criticism and sharing of these harsh feelings is appropriate.

But as someone who served in the Israel Defense Forces for 24 years and grew up with its values, and who, like many here, only wants to focus on building the new Israel together, I see no choice but to demand that the political level and the Israel Defense Forces not subject us to dozens more heartbreaking investigations like this until someone tells us what really happened on October 7, and not only takes responsibility, but admits guilt.

The author served as spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces between May 18, 2017, and September 15, 2019, after previously serving as deputy chief of staff.



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