The Limitations of Force

The message from Jerusalem since the last election is that force is the answer to all of our problems. The same problems that have not yet been solved require more force so we will exert force, and if it still will not be enough then we will add even more force. The word "force" has multiple meanings: from the use of physical force against our immediate enemies that often pushes us to the edge and tugs at the boundaries of legal and constitutional legitimacy, to the use of brute force concerning sensitive political and strategic issues that exact a high price in both the immediate and long-term, and ending with the use of force through the seemingly culture of prattle of politicians and statesmen whose echoes we hear afterwards in the jungle language of social networks.

These various types of force not only fail to solve our immediate problems, they also wear away at whatever deterrence we have left in the military, terrorism and political arenas, and increase the public's sense of fear, embarrassment and aimlessness.

I was fortunate to work with the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Rabin, who worked his entire life in building the IDF force, but his interpretation of this concept was completely different from that of politicians today. In his opinion, force is designed to build deterrence that will enable greater flexibility for political action. He believed, after decades of military and security service, that solutions to conflict are found in the political, not military, arena.

If the Prime Minister continuously broadcasts that "Whatever I want, I get" (such as a nuclear agreement with Iran or the gas deal) and the Chief Rabbi (G-d forbid) banishes with mere words all of the Arabs from here, except for those who remain as loggers and water cleaners to serve us, the Jews, then how can we complain about the vulgar chatter by inconsequential people on social networks.

And if that was not enough, we were roused by last week's "confirming the kill" blunder in Hebron and all of the demons that were still in the bottle jumped out. To where? To the political-partisan field. And the politicians, instead of remaining calm, defending the IDF and supporting its commanders who know how to handle this issue in a professional manner, are turning the incident into the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: whoever supports the soldier is a hero of the Land of Israel and whoever supports the IDF is a traitor.

The IDF is the greatest and most successful product of the Jewish people in their land. The IDF won wars; the IDF protected the borders; the IDF absorbed Aliyah; the IDF carried out national projects that no other party in the country could carry out The IDF is virtually the only body in the country that performs real administrative work and thorough decision-making processes.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Education are competing with one another for the political "right indicator" spot, and their position regarding the shooting blunder in Hebron is ambiguous at best; both of them are competing with one another to see who will be more extreme in his denouncement of the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff and the military court system. They ignore the simple fact that they have no other way of implementing their political perspective other than the IDF, and that their remarks in recent days are cutting off the branches on which they sit. They should not be surprised if, on the crucial day, the army turns its back on them. Their policies are creating impossible situations in which 18-20 year old soldiers are faced with military, legal and ethical dilemmas that Supreme Court justices are debating.

Force alone will not defeat terrorism. Nor will bending the rules in order to add punitive measures. The main and simple reason for this is that force cannot defeat terrorism, in the present conflict counters, in which you cannot use all of the force at your disposal (even if you want to).

In order to repair the damage that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education have caused, they must stop their criticisms, express unequivocal support for the IDF commanders and their professional systems, and accept their recommendations with regard to the "soft" policy measures towards the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip. Above all, they must speak out against the fervor of the " social divisions" networks, and against the unrestrained incitement by radical right elements and their cries to go out to the town square. Town squares in the Middle East are full of surprises.