Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
Photo: Yaron Brenner
Mofaz makes emotional TV appearance
The defense minister's eyes filled with tears, before he said, 'I just miss him. I think of what he would say in certain situations, and in difficult moments, in difficult decisions'
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz made an emotional appearance on Channel Two's Yair Lapid chat show Monday, and cried when he spoke of his father who had passed away.
Lapid: I've been told that your most difficult moments are when your father is not here, because when he was alive, you would discuss things with him…
"My father was, for me… my father dedicated his life to his children, and to immigrating to Israel. There is no doubt, that if he was alive today, he would be the man I would seek advice from."
The defense minister's eyes filled with tears, before he continued, "I just miss him. I think of what he would say in certain situations, and in difficult moments, in difficult decisions."
Lapid: What would he have said now?
“I believe he would have supported my decision to stay (in Likud), and the road I chose. He usually supported me. That’s the main thing. My way was not easy, not in the first years after the immigration to Israel, not at the boarding school… and not in the IDF. I achieved everything through sweat; my way was never straightforward. I did major efforts to become like any other Israeli. At the end of the day, it was because of the equal opportunities policy in the IDF that I succeeded to get to where I am.”
Lapid: Your father received your Israeli identification card on your behalf, did he become Israeli with you or through you?
“My father wanted so much that I become Israeli, I think that’s why he decided to send me to boarding school. That was at age 14. For a 14-year-old teenager that’s very difficult. Also for him I believe. The moment he left me remains engraved in my head more than any other thing… we were holding hands, he left my hand and said, ‘You are staying here. I am returning to Eilat."
At this moment Mofaz had tears in his eyes and explained, “That’s a sensitive memory for me, because I owe a lot to my father.”
