News Digest — 4/20/23
IDF Chief Of Staff: The ‘People’s Army’ Model Is The Only One That Can Succeed
There will be no replacement for the ‘People’s Army’ IDF conscription model, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Thursday morning (20th) following outrage over a new conscription model outline that was reported to be in the works earlier this week.
Halevi’s comments on the conscription model were made out of a longer speech he delivered in Latrun at the opening event of a new project known as “Walking the Paths of the IDF” in which thousands of IDF soldiers will take part in a march following significant routes in the IDF’s history.
“Today we are walking in the path of the IDF – a path that intertwines the landscapes of our country with the legacy of our battles,” the Chief of Staff said, addressing the soldiers against the overcast sky.
“From the Galilee and the Golan, Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, throughout the coastal plain and down through the Negev Desert and the Arava, each point on the map tells a different story and reminds us how the IDF has fought for our rights to exist here.
“In the 75 years of defense there are stories of battles from the War of Independence, through all of Israel’s wars up until the present day,” he continued. “The hills and paths that we walk today were the scenes of battles, the scenes of combat values at their best, places of great achievements, places of failure in battle, and places where we lost the best of our people.”
“We carry their memories with us always, and on Remembrance Day next week, we can carry them with us more than any other day.”
Halevi continued: “We are marching today along the paths of the country to emphasize our strong connection to the country and its landscape, and to remember that at the heart of the IDF’s actions, forever and above all else, is love of the homeland and its people.”
“We will also know how to stop, respect, and learn the fighting legacy that our predecessors left behind,” he continued, turning his attention to the controversial conscription law outline, which, if implemented, would grant an exemption from service to haredi citizens at a lower age than others.
“We will remember that the same spirit and willingness which led long generations before us into the battles for Israel’s existence is the spirit that continues to guide us, even today. Today, we are marching together as one – conscripts, salaried soldiers, reserve soldiers, from across the entire spectrum of roles in the army, with different views on the country and different opinions and beliefs – in order to emphasize that together, our strength is greater.”
“For 75 years, the People’s Army model has proven beyond any doubt that there is not, and there must not be any substitute. It is the secret of the IDF’s strength, the secret of the nation’s strength.”
Concluding his speech, Halevi told the soldiers: “We will put on our uniforms and leave all disputes outside so that the citizens of Israel and its youth will know that we have one common denominator – the security of the state. For this, we will stand up, defend the country and risk our lives, standing shoulder to shoulder together. There is one IDF path, and one IDF, and together we will walk on it.”
Israel’s Remembrance Day begins Monday evening 24th through Tuesday evening the 25th.
Netanyahu To Torchlighters: ‘I Simply Want To Thank You’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, together with Minister Miri Regev met on Wednesday (19th) with the torchlighters for the State of Israel’s 75th Independence Day, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Happy are the people and the country that has people such as you. Happy are the soldiers that have commanders such as you.”
“Your stories always must be heard – especially now, at a time of internal debate and when there is an attempt to unravel Israeli society and the State of Israel, at least that is what our enemies think, they who talk of cobwebs and a crumbling state – I think that when they see and hear these stories they’ll understand. We will also see to it that they understand that the complete opposite is happening,” he added.
“To some of you, I simply want to thank you for your ‘life’s work.’ There are some who are just starting out in life, so continue to learn from others – there is much to learn. There is much to be grateful for and appreciate. I want to thank you in advance on behalf of all the citizens of Israel.”
Sara Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s wife, said: “First of all, welcome to the young people among you – I say that the moment you stand there and light the torches, you will remember it all your life. You will tell it to your grandchildren or to your great-grandchildren. This is the moment the State of Israel takes off its hat and thanks you.”
“I think, especially after all the things that we have seen – here we see that which is unifying and that which is marvelous. It is so overwhelming to know that we have such an amazing country with this splendid mosaic.
Also attending the meeting were members of the Torchlighters Selection Committee.
Israel’s 75th Independence Day begins on Remembrance Day evening, Tuesday the 25th and ends Wednesday evening the 26th.
(isnn.com)
Germany Asks Israel, Poland For Forgiveness For Warsaw Ghetto Liquidation
WARSAW – Germany seeks forgiveness for crimes it committed in Warsaw during World War II, including the liquidation of the city’s Jews, the country’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said during a solemn ceremony Wednesday (19th) to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
“I stand before you today and ask for your forgiveness for the crimes committed here by Germans,” said Steinmeier, who was the first German head of state to participate in the annual ceremony, which dates back to 1948.
“It is difficult to come here as a German and as Germany’s federal president. The terrible crimes that Germans committed here fill me with profound shame,” Steinmeier said.
His presence lent additional gravity to the event, in which he was joined by his Polish and Israeli counterparts, Andrzej Duda and Isaac Herzog, respectively. The three leaders stood together next to the Rapoport memorial to the Jews, who against all odds, fought back against the Nazis from April 19 to May 16, 1943, in a vain attempt to prevent the final liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto.
“Here in this square, by the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, I stand before you in grief and humility for the crimes of the past and our responsibility for our shared future!” Steinmeier said.
The trio – Steinmeier, Duda and Herzog – walked down a red carpet into the packed square by the monument erected in 1948, stood and sat together for the ceremony and shook hands next to the memorial’s sculpted fighters of the Jewish resistance.
It was a handshake that transcended time and space, as Steinmeier represents a country that during World War II occupied Poland and a nation that under Nazi leadership killed six million Jews.
Now, 80 years from the date of the ghetto uprising and 78 years since the end of the Holocaust, the three leaders represent three countries that are allies.
They came together under a cloudy sky – which periodically darkened during the ceremony – to speak of the importance of memory, mourning and reconciliation..
The trio presented a unified presence despite recent tensions in their relations over a Polish law criminalizing talk of Polish complicity with the Nazis during the Holocaust.
The ceremony started with several minutes of silence to the victims of the war and the ghetto uprising as the sound of a series of sirens and church bells enveloped the square. Those standing wore small yellow pieces cut out of daffodils on the left side of their jackets and sweaters, in solidarity with the Warsaw Ghetto victims.
Duda spoke of the heroism of the Jewish fighters in Warsaw in 1943 and lauded their identity as Polish citizens whose actions helped spark the valor needed to help end the war.
President Herzog said that the uprising was “the emblem of heroism during humanity’s darkest hour.”
“A few hundred Polish Jews faced thousands of fully armed Nazi soldiers,” he recalled.
“Here at this place where we gather, stood the ghetto, cramped, bustling, and bursting with life. Nearby was the ‘collection point,’ or ‘Umschlagplatz.’ It was there that the fate of 300,000 Polish Jews was sealed: children, the elderly, and women and men who were deported to the Treblinka death camp,” Herzog said.
“We must remember: there is nothing postmodern or relativistic about Holocaust remembrance. Absolute evil existed, in the form of the Nazis and their accomplices. And absolute good existed in the form of the victims and the rebels, from every nation. And in passing this heritage down to posterity, it must reflect this indisputable axiom: no ifs, no buts,” Herzog said.
While in Warsaw, Herzog held bilateral meetings with Duda and Steinmeier. He also visited the excavations of the bunker where the Warsaw Ghetto fighters led by Mordechai Anielewicz hid. After that visit, Herzog tweeted, “18 Mila Street. Depths of destruction. Peaks of heroism. Chilling.”
Israel’s Eli Cohen Visits Azerbaijan Seeking United Front Against Iran
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met in Baku with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday (19th), discussing common strategic challenges, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. They also discussed regional security and the fight against terrorism, as well as expanded cooperation between the two.
Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for Israel, and the trip to Baku comes in the wake of Azerbaijan opening an embassy in Israel in March. The ministry noted that Azerbaijan is a Shiite Muslim country.
Heading a delegation of 30 Israeli companies at the Presidential Palace, Cohen said, “Israel and Azerbaijan are strengthening their political and security alliance. I met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and we talked about the strategic regional challenges we share, chief among them regional security and the fight against terrorism. I congratulated the president on his decision to establish an embassy in Israel, the first embassy of a Shiite Muslim nation in the country.” He added that the embassy opening further strengthened security, as well as the political and economic alliance between Azerbaijan and Israel.
Cohen’s delegation included 30 companies that operate in the fields of homeland security, cyber security, water issues and agriculture, including representatives from the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Affairs Export Institute. Over 100 meetings were scheduled among the various companies, local counterparts and government officials.
Israel receives about 30% of its oil from Azerbaijan and has viewed Baku as a key strategic partner for years. Israel established relations with Azerbaijan in 1991.
Israel and Azerbaijan share the same perception of the Iranian threat. “The Iranian Ayatollah regime threatens both our regions, finances terrorism, and destabilizes the entire Middle East. We must act together to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear capabilities,” Cohen declared.
Cohen then traveled to Turkmenistan where he is expected to inaugurate the opening of an Israeli embassy there.
‘We All Live For This Country’: Small Bedouin Community Flies Israeli Flag With Pride
While some members of Israel’s Bedouin community may face an internal conflict between their identity as Israeli citizens and their ethnic identity as Muslim Arabs, one school in a Bedouin settlement in southern Israel proudly displays the Israeli flag.
Ibrahim al-Sayed, principal of the Amal al-Sayed Multidisciplinary School in al-Qasum regional Council, sees no conflict between the two identities.
“We all live for this country, we must integrate and not get stuck in the past. I refuse to feel ashamed for displaying the Israeli flag on my watch,” he said.
Al-Sayed is a small tribal community of about 6,000 people nestled between Arad and Be’er Sheva in southern Israel’s Negev Desert.
Ibrahim worked with his students to hang Israeli flags throughout their village in honor of Israel’s upcoming 75th anniversary.
Although the initiative faced objections from some locals, he chose to pursue it nevertheless because he firmly believes in the significance of education and the integration of the Bedouin community into the broader Israeli society.
Ibrahim explains that his parents instilled in him the importance of belonging to his country, teaching him to protect its flag and sovereignty from a young age.
Al-Sayed stresses the importance of promoting education, volunteerism, and active participation in Israeli society.
He upholds the tradition that his father passed down to him by hanging the national flag at the entryway to the settlement every year, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding his unique country.
