barak barak barak is everywhere today on ynet. OF COURSE HE HAS A LOT STATE EXPERIENCE. he served as chief of IDF than as PM than as DM DONT YOU SEE THAT HE IS FLYING ! *** I DONT KNOW. ISRAEL NEEDS TO HAVE WISE STABLE LEADERS. ISRAEL NEEDS POZITIVE PEACEFULL LEADERS. FACISM IS DEAD IN TODAY. SO RADICALISM SO RIGHTISM SO RADICAL LEFTISM. I like to give a chance to barak. *** ısrael must fight to its religious radicals. if not israel will never be totally secular and than NEVER WILL BE SAFE. IT IS SAME FOR ARABS. THEY MUST BE SECULAR AS MUCH AS TURKEY IS. Atilla Karagözoğlu The God Bless me :)

It was even readable and sensible and completely right. I'm impressed.

Barak will never disconnect his relationship with an institution like Tel Aviv University where officer are often sent for advanced education, and professors compare IDF Soldiers to Nazis encouraging dissent

how right you are. It's very interesting to see the comments and until now I see only haters of Israel who praise Barak. Am I missing something in your article? It sound very right but not ethical

Was Barak right when he let IDF soldier Madhat Yussuf die for political gain? Was Barak right when he betrayed the SLA, allowing Hezbolla to take over Lebanon, and ultimately bringing Israel's defeat in Lebanon II? Was Barak right in surrendering everything to Arafat, causing the Second Intifada with thousands of deaths? Was Barak right in his planning of Cast Lead, which had no purpose and is universally condemned as a war crime? Was Barak right in killing 12 Arab rioters and then abandoning the police officers who did it? With such a record of failure, why does Yoaz Handel think that Barak finally got something right? The man is a disaster.

Barak is today an unlikely exemplar of much about our nation - if anything he represents its faults. BUT he is the Defence Minister of the State of Israel and the political master of the IDF. The IDF is not nor should it ever be allowed to become more than one army. It is called the Israel Defence Forces not the God of Israel Defence Forces. Often non-responsive to settler pressure in the past, now is the time for Barak to draw the red line clearly for these rabbis and tell them they cannot and will not be allowed to cross it. It would help if the Prime Minister rose from his precious seat long enough to back Barak overtly rather than utter the usual impressive sounding words that usually mean nothing.

Mr. Hendel believes Defense Minister Ehud Barak did the right thing by ending the special arrangement with the Har Bracha Yeshiva. This has been and will be a subject of much debate. It would seem the Defense Minister had the legal right to end the special arrangement with the Yeshiva. Additionally, the Defense Minister has the prime minister's support. What Mr. Hendel does not address is this. Do religious soldiers have the right, even the obligation, to not obey orders most religious Jews consider immoral or evil or both? Orders to forcibly remove Jews from the land of Israel have no direct security or military purpose. Many believe forcibly removing Jews from our land is not only immoral but it undermines Israel's security; as we witnessed in Gaza.. We know soldiers who disobey orders risk punishment. They have been punished. Does Yoaz Hendel believe religious soldiers have an obligation to serve in a military that is doing immoral and unethical things? Things which violate the fundamental principles enunciated in the Torah?

B"H With all due respect, and I have a lot for him, Rabbi Melamed is not the issue here. He and his yeshiva in Bracha will survive with or without the hesder program. The issue is not even the question of subordination. It is clear that, even if it is not a value by itself, an army is more efficient if commanders don't have to worry about whether their orders are followed through or not. No, the real issue here is a much bigger one and no one talks about it: the IDF. What kind of an army Israel, the so called Jewish State should have? A goyshe army like any other nation, a war machine that follows all orders, jawohl, moral ones and immoral ones alike? Or a Jewish army? Barak is for the goyshe army model. He is comfortable with the yassam, he is comfortable with using the IDF against Jews, he is comfortable with enforcing and over enforcing State laws that he is willing to apply selectively, without letting any moral or Jewish nationalistic considerations disturb him, and I don’t mention Torah here on purpose. The State is secular, right? Rabbi Melamed on the other hand is prepared to participate only in Torah-compatible action. In my view, and let’s close an eye over the greater issue, what is evil and what is right, this army model gives a better guarantee for the Jewish people: I stand with Rabbi Melamed and pray to G-d for the wellbeing of Jews. In practice this means that Barak should go home the earlier the better and be replaced by Rabbi Melamed. He would make an excellent Defense Minister. Why? Because he can draw up a proper, Jewish list of priorities and execute it under pressure! That's why. Barak never did that. He is only a hated power-broker, inside of his camp and outside. Rabbi Melamed is a great strategist and a principled Jewish leader.

To Steve: As an American I'm saying that you are cutting your nose to spite your face. W/O the IDF, not only is Israel lost, but 5.5m Jews face a brutal murderous Arab population..from all sides. Get it pal. This latest incident is unfortunate, and can be resolved by POLICE, enforcing eviction laws. Our LAPD and Sheriffs do it every day, 24-7. The army doesn't intervene., except if a full blown riot. (See LA riots). A soldier is a soldier is a soldier, whose purpose is to protect Israel from it's enemies..NOT carry out foreign policy ( settlements), freezes, etc. The controversy, like so many in little Israel, is unnecessary.

To Steve (cont): Israel's soldiers are keeping Israel viable, w/o which, it will become one huge Auschwitz., it's 2m children destroyed..similar to the Hungarian 500,000 who lost their lives in 1944. Get it! Israeli necks are on the line here. There can never be insubordination by the military..even the Reigh executed thousands for fleeing their army. Get it! But, the IDF should be used better: stop illegal protests at the fence (recurring), hang convicted Arab terrorists ( Barghouti first), stop foreigners from stopping clearing of houses, stopping Gaza Strip blockade breakers, stopping smuggling, hunting down Arab killers who flee, etc. A bill to stop the IDF in the instant problem..long overdue. We in the USA have cops for that purpose. Israel can and should learn from US.

To Steve (cont): What matters at present is the arrangement details, between the yeshivas and the military. Barak's prior failings, and accomplishments are in fact irrelevant. It's the instant problem. If university professors discourage the IDF and foster protests...that is a university problem..coupled with the Defense Dept. Look, we have ROTC here.I was a member for land grand schools. Some protested and they were dismantled. That's fine. But, profs did not discriminate specificially., (NROTC, AFROTC, AROTC). Consider that the Haredi don't go into the army, don't work for a living, and think that Talmud study 24-7 is appropriate. No IDF, no Talmud/Torah study guys....no Israel. Back to Monsey.

You wrote: A soldier'(s) purpose is to protect Israel from it's enemies..NOT carry out foreign policy ( settlements), freezes, etc. I agree with the first part of your statement. As to the second part, I wonder, have you opened or read the Torah, Jewish law? Ever? Do you know what it says about the land of Israel and to whom it belongs? You call the land of Israel "foreign," as in "foreign policy." In other words, you agree with Israel's Arab 'neighbors', Israel is an illegitmate occupier of Muslim land called "Palestine." Israel's Muslim 'neighbors' believe all of "Palestine" is Islamic waqf or an endowment from Allah. You and I have nothing in common. How can we communicate?

A rabbi claims moral authority over his students from a divine source. A university lecturer's ideas have no authority over students, since academia is based on the scepticism that is taught to its students

Rabbi Melamed has stated several times that he is against the protest by soldiers. What Barak did was demand that he sign a letter proclaiming any protest of the government decisions is wrong. Barak hates free speech and democracy

here in israil polisemen work on trafic problems only but idf work evry thing specialy when there is no real war i mean a battle ... in checkpoint s beside the ambulance when it take a patient from his house in or near arab area when they sedtroy houses when they evacuate the arabs by court order when there is a crime .when moslemes want to go to pray in alaksa

The rules of democracy only interest the left when then can control the expression of thought. Their BS is not only seen in the color of their shirts, but in their way of thinking. Why indeed should Melamed be prevented from voicing his opinions when Barak would never ask that of any academic or even army radio?

in everything he does. And boy, does it show, in EVERYTHING. Awful to see and watch and hear. You can take the guy outta the secular kibbutz but you can't take the secular kibbutz outta the guy. As I said, in everything he does and handles, not only the MOD. No true Jewish values to be seen or heard.