Alarm Signal

The resignation of Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon is an alarm signal. A political hardliner, yet honest and morally principled, Likud-member Yaalon is warning against “manifestations of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society which are threatening its sturdiness.” Yet Israel still has time to ward off these dangers. A call for active steps to support a humane Zionism…

Israel’s future is a matter of concern. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s resignation is a signal, for the former general did not depart of his own free will. Ya’alon’s hand was all but forced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose actions were politically calculated. The ministry of defense has now been turned over to hard-liner Avigdor Lieberman, chair of the Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is Our Home) party. In a democracy, political offices are only temporary appointments and every politician must and should assume they could be replaced at any moment.
But in this case, something fundamental is at stake. Moshe Ya’alon is a man of steely resolve who rejects the idea of a Palestinian state as unrealistic and as a threat to Israel’s existence. But even his fiercest opponents concede that Ya’alon is honest and morally principled. After Defense Minister Ya’alon viewed a video of the fatal shooting of an unarmed Palestinian attacker by Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, he condemned the killing as an act of vigilante justice. This stance made Ya’alon, who is a prominent member of the Likud Party, the target of vilification by the far-right – including those within his own party. Images of Ya’alon’s face in the cross-hairs went viral on social media, bearing the caption “politically eliminated.” These actions are reminiscent of the campaign of vilification directed against Yitzhak Rabin, which culminated in his assassination in 1995.

Prime Minister Netanyahu initially stood behind his defense minister. But as pressure from the far-right mounted, Netanyahu paid a visit to the family of Elor Azaria, the soldier then in custody pending trial. Although Netanyahu took care to offer no legal or political appraisal, his visit was seen as a concession to the far-right. Israel’s military leaders, who follow a tradition based on the principles of humanity and political loyalty, were alarmed. IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan warned during a Holocaust Remembrance speech of the rise of fascistic tendencies within Israeli society. This warning was apparently issued with the agreement of Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. The far-right erupted in outrage, recognizing that the Israeli military and the minister of defense were refusing to countenance their influence.
Prime Minister Netanyahu solved this escalating conflict by replacing Ya’alon with Avigdor Lieberman, thereby solidifying his fragile majority in the Knesset – and shifting it further to the right. Ya’alon was offered a different Cabinet position, but he refused to be bought off. Instead he resigned from both the Cabinet and the Knesset. His announcement made his position clear: “I fought with all my might against manifestations of extremism, violence and racism in Israeli society, which are threatening its stability and trickling into the IDF, hurting it already.” Indeed, according to Ya’alon, this tendency was also evident outside the military: “To my great regret, extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel and the Likud Party…”
Ya’alon’s resignation and his speech have reverberated through Israeli politics – after all, Ya’alon’s knowledge of military and party matters is unparalleled. What will be the impact of these events? Netanyahu will continue to pursue the Labor Party, hoping to convince them to join the coalition and thus enhancing his government’s international reputation. Yet this is nothing but a strategic maneuver. What moved Ya’alon to resign, and what continues to worry both Israel and its friends, is the spread of extreme nationalism, and, yes, racism. This must be fought with all legal means. Israel still has time to ward off this threat. The Jewish state must remain democratic and pluralistic. This can only succeed if all cosmopolitan and open-minded forces acknowledge the looming danger and take active steps to support a humane Zionism.