Yoram Kaniuk
Photo: Shaul Golan
Seal generals' lips
Top commanders should not be settling scores in public
Why is there so much blubbering? Why do the bereaved parents, mothers and fathers of those fine youngsters killed in battle – have to hear that their sons may have died in vain as a result of some evil officer's negligent conduct.
Who can send their sons to the army today, knowing that one day, if heaven forbid their son is injured, the son will serve as a weapon by former generals who are slamming each other publicly?
Why don't these people have the sensitivity to remain silent? The sensitivity but also the accountability to sound their harsh words in private so as to prevent unnecessary pain?
They are creating infinite sorrow. Who could possibly benefit from reading in the newspaper or seeing on TV that their sons had died as a result of a war between the generals? With what nerve can former generals such as Moshe Yaalon and Shaul Mofaz, who made the army what it is today, speak out in public so much? Are they not ashamed?
Military commanders once spoke little
I once used to live in a military officers' neighborhood, it was a time when commanders spoke little. They conducted their private wars quietly. But here and there they spoke out, and I remember asking not to be present at such meetings. I used to have friends who had sons in the army.
Granted, accounts do have to be settled but they should be done so professionally. What happened after the Yom Kippur War was enough, a lot of blood was spilled by those public wars.
Years ago I met a doctor who used to criticize other doctors out loud. Years later I was admitted into hospital, I underwent three surgeries – do you think I didn't try recalling whether any of the doctors were particularly lethal or irresponsible?
Where is the prime minister who is allowing the generals to negotiate the blood of our soldiers? I think of the boys who died, the boys I didn't know. Did their officers kill them in malice, and if so what will be done with these officers?
We have lost our mutual sense of accountability, the sense that we are one people, for better but also for worse. That only the rich and powerful are worth anything.
We would do well to buy a band-aid to seal the lips of both former and present generals, at least until the blood dries.
