Former Defense Officials Send Letter Backing Ya’alon

Israel’s embattled Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has received a vote of confidence in the form of a letter signed by 200 former defense officials decrying the inflammatory attacks on him for his condemnation of the soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist in Chevron about two weeks ago, The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

The signatories, former IDF generals, Shin Bet, Mossad and police officials, said attacks on Ya’alon and on army chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot were “dangerous attempts to drag the IDF into the political arena.”

“After dozens of years of service, each one of us knows the defense establishment inside out, and we know its impressive professional capabilities. But even the strongest, most high-quality system is not immune to ongoing attempts by politicians to erode its image, and undermine faith in its leaders. Against this background, we join your call to politicians of all shades, and say: Keep the IDF out of politics!”

The former defense officials said they stand behind the IDF investigation of the incident, which they said was carried out “in the most professional and responsible manner.”
The letter was sent to Ya’alon by members of the Commanders for Israel’s Security group. It was signed, among others, by former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavi, and numerous former IDF general officers.